Gandhi Jayanti: 1.16 cr students plant 1.5 cr saplings in Guj

Over 1.16 crore students from more than 50,000 schools in Gujarat planted 1.5 crore saplings since June 15 as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

The nation will celebrate the Mahatma's 150th birth anniversary on October 2.

"A total of 1,16,66,437 students of 51,141 government, grant-in-aid and self-financed schools participated in the programme launched on June 15. They planted 1.5 crore saplings inside their campuses or in the vicinity," a Gujarat Education department official said.

A government release said details of the saplings planted have been collected and recorded to ensure their survival.

It added that on October 2 students will take a pledge to make the state and country plastic-free by avoiding the use of such materials, while teachers will purchase Khadi clothes to promote the garment popularised by Gandhiji.