Odisha hospital gives saplings to new parents in bid to recover lost green in Fani

After the city lost a large number of trees to the recent Cyclone Fani, a government hospital here has taken up a unique initiative to recover the lost green cover by handing out free tree saplings to the parents of newborn babies.

"The idea is to connect the sentiment of the mother with the plant. So, when she goes home, she believes there are two newcomers in her family and takes care of the plant as well. We are also teaching people the role and importance of plants," Director of Capital Hospital, Bhubaneshwar, Ashok Pattnaik told ANI.

The hospital is handing out Neem, Bael and Kadamba plants to the parents of the newborns delivered in the hospital under their innovative scheme, 'One baby one tree'.

"We lost a lot of trees in the recent cyclone Fani. We are taking up this unique initiative to revive the green cover in our beloved city and the surrounding areas with the help of district authorities and forest department," Pattnaik said.

According to officials, around 30 newborns are delivered in the hospital every day. The hospital receives tree saplings from the forest department and hands them out to the parents when the mother and child are discharged.

"They will plant the trees in their houses as a memento of their child's birth. Therefore, they will be more responsible for nourishing it. We have also informed them that when the tree grows up, it will also nourish around 400 people by supplying oxygen," he added.

The people are also taking this programme with a renewed zeal. "We will plant this tree and take care of it like our own child. When the tree grows up, it will provide oxygen to people," said Kunduni Dehuri, who received one such sapling.

Cyclone Fani had wreaked havoc in the state after it made landfall in the beach city of Puri on May 3. At least 64 people were killed, over 20 lakh trees uprooted while infrastructure worth crores were destroyed in the calamity.