Young kids enacted a small play with a profound message. Children drawn from the local Sisu Mandir School in the ancient Amaravathi town, through their act, effectively depicted the rapid environmental degradation warning that it would spell doom for the mankind.
The play was presented as part of vanam-manam, the green plan designed by the Government for a Haritha Andhra Pradesh. Most of the large number of trees planted last year by the AP Social Forestry wing in Amaravathi have either died in the absence of proper upkeep or cut down for public work. To inculcate a sense of social responsibility among the locals, the Amaravathi Heritage Centre and Museum organised a week-long drive that brought over 40 adult educators from the 23 villages and hamlets across the mandal together for the first time, recognising their role in greening and afforestation.
To keep the environment clean and green, they discussed measures to restore the recently destroyed large groves of mango, tamarind and guava across the mandal.
“The traditional fruit groves are not only important for their shade, healthy fruit and safe environment for kids, they also serve as perfect platform for holding rachchabanda [village meetings],” said Vadlamudi Amareswar Rao, a teacher from Ravela High School. He also pointed out that the large number of monkeys in Amaravathi town played around trees in the past but were now diverting to residential colonies in the absence of proper shade.
Mandal Education Officer Rami Reddy, Nalluri Radha, principal of Senior Chaitanya School and others spoke. The programme was put together by Chief Curator of Amaravathi Museum Amareswar Galla. The participants urged that locally appropriate plants be given to the 76 schools in the mandal during Vanam-Manam, help extended to local anganwadi groups to plant and nurture fruit groves, trees cut down for tourism projects be re-established and all temples and ponds in the mandal be lined up with trees.