Drive to plant 16L saplings begins

- Janamkosam Vanam aims to create a green belt in upland mandals of Prathipadu constituency
- Large number of schoolchildren, SHG women take part in the drive

Rajamahendravaram: A massive programme to create a green belt by planting 16 lakh saplings in upland mandals in Prathipadu constituency in East Godavari district was launched by the constituency MLA Varupula Subba Rao at Lingamparthi village of Eleswaram mandal on Wednesday.

The programme, called Janam Kosam Vanam (plants for public) began amid festive atmosphere with hundreds of schoolchildren, self-help group women, officials of all the departments in the district participating in the plantation drive.

Avenue plantation covering roads, institutional plantation covering hospitals, hostels and schools were planned along with kitchen gardens for the individual houses in the constituency.

Efforts by officials to create awareness among people on the need to plant saplings and protect them resulted in good turnout for the programme. Casuarina, eucalyptus, shading plants, cashew, bio-fencing teak plants and fruit bearing trees for individual households were distributed under the programme.

Janam Kosam Vanam programme was launched by Deputy Chief Minister Nimmakayala Chinarajappa at Lingamparthi on Wednesday. Rajappa said that the Centre and the State government had taken steps to save forests to maintain 33 per cent green coverage .He said the State government had launched Vanam-Manam programme to plant saplings on a huge scale. In this connection, the Minister stressed the need to protect plants and to regulating mechanism to control felling of trees.

The Deputy Chief Minister said special emphasis would be laid on covering hills and upland areas in plantation drive and self-help groups would be involved in a large scale.

He called upon the people to take up this programme as movement for environmental protection and to earn income through it. To promote plantation, parents would be given a plant for every child born in hospitals to plant and protect it, he said. He also said stringent measures were being taken to curb smuggling of red sanders and teak plants.

Zilla Parishad chairperson Namana Rambabu noted that it was first time in the State that one constituency taking up a massive plantation drive.

District Collector H Arun Kumar who also participated in the programme, said that 1.64 crore plants were raised through 162 nurseries in the district and 12 lakh plants were already planted and 15 lakh would be planted on July 29. Each household was given five fruit-bearing plants to encourage kitchen gardens in the district.

MLA Varupula Subba Rao, who presided over the function, said the immediate need for plantation in upland areas had inspired him to take up this drive and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was instrumental in planting and protecting trees.

Jaggampet MLA Jyothula Nehru, DCCB chairman Varupula Raja, BC Corporation Executive Director M Jyothi, District Water Management Agency Project Director A Nageswara Rao, Peddapuram Revenue Divisional Officer and others attended.