UP plants 5 crore saplings in a single day

Uttar Pradesh on Monday sought to create a world record by planting five crore saplings at different locations across the state in a single day.

The drive was kicked-off by Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in the state capital, while his son and Chief Minister of the state Akhilesh Yadav planted a sapling each in Kannauj and Rasoolabad area in Kanpur rural. He was accompanied by his MP wife Dimple Yadav.

More than 10 lakh people across the state were involved in the record-breaking drive which aimed at planting five crore saplings at 6,161 places in one day.

Various schools, NGOs, government departments, military and para-military forces were roped in by the state government.

While the Tata Energy Research Institute (Teri) was verifying the digging of pits for the plantation, a third party was also tasked to monitor the entire process.

The plants would be monitored by GPS and a command and control room has been set up for the purpose at the forest department headquarter in the state capital.

"More than 80 varieties, including Goolar, Tamarind, Teak, Sagaun, Arjuna, Bael and Jamun, of plants have been planted on Monday during the drive," a forest official told IANS.

--IANS

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