Tamil Nadu will raise 85 lakh saplings for the Cauvery Calling project and 10 lakh of them will be raised in Tiruvannamalai at the Mahatma Green India Mission Isha nursery this year.
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister Sevoor S. Ramachandran launched the sapling raising programme on Sunday at the nursery near Pallikondapattu with a symbolic sprinkling of seeds.
District Collector K.S. Kandasamy, District Chief Educational Officer Arul Selvam, Senior Researcher Pandi Kumar from St. Xavier College and principal of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and Research Centre Pandian participated. In his address, Mr. Ramachandran spoke about the significance of the Cauvery Calling movement to Tamil Nadu farmers.
Agro-forestry method
“To revitalise Cauvery and develop the livelihood of farmers, the project has been initiated by Sadhguru. This project is motivating farmers to move to long-term agro-forestry through timber farming. This method of farming will ensure the sustainable development of the environment and improve the economic condition of the farmers,” he said.
He added that Isha is conducting various training programs on timber farming across Tamil Nadu as part of this project. Thousands of farmers are interested because of the awareness created by the project. “Isha is going to raise 85 lakh saplings in Tamil Nadu this year through 35 Mahatma Green India Mission nurseries across Tamil Nadu. The Triuvannamalai nursery will raise 10 lakh saplings,” he added.
An exhibition on ‘Variety of Trees and Traditional Herbs’ was also held where Mr. Pandi Kumar spoke on the topic. The programme was attended by farmers and students from various schools and colleges.