Boosting biodiversity! UP sets new record; more than 25 crore saplings planted on a single day during Van Mahotsav

The state has been organising Van Mahotsava since 2017.

Uttar Pradesh Van Mahotsava: Kudos! UP plants over 25 crore saplings on a single day during Van Mahotsava! The Uttar Pradesh government organised a week-long ‘Van Mahotsava’, during which a whopping 25 crore saplings were planted on Sunday alone. According to the state Environment, Forest and Climate Change department website, the state government had aimed to plant as many as 25 crore saplings in a single day during the Van Mahotsava 2020. During the Mahotsava, which started on July 1 and is scheduled to end on July 7, the exact number of saplings planted from July 1 till 6.47 pm on Sunday was 25,87,47,661.

To achieve the goal, residents across the state were roped in for the plantation drive on Sunday, state Forest Minister Dara Singh Chauhan said in a video posted on the department’s website. However, to ensure the safety of the participants during the coronavirus pandemic, the drive was organised while maintaining social distance and vulnerable groups like children and elderly people were kept away from the event, according to a report in News On Air.

In a video appeal to the people of the state, Chauhan said that CM Yogi had ordered the forest department to focus on biodiversity, which was in keeping with the UN’s theme for this year’s World Environment Day. In view of the order, the department decided to plant over 200 species of saplings, and to prepare the saplings, more than 1,700 nurseries incubated as many as 44 crore saplings.

With a range of species, the forest department focused on planting 25 species like mango, papaya and guava trees to tackle the issue of malnutrition and to provide the state with more produce. Apart from that, the department also identified 36 species of immunity-boosting trees, which were also planted. These have been planted in light of the coronavirus pandemic with an aim to provide the state with enough products to boost the immunity of the people of the state through alternative medicine.

The move is a significant measure towards building the green cover in the state. According to Chauhan, this is one of the many efforts taken by the Yogi Adityanath-led government to increase the green cover in the state. In the video, he added that when CM Yogi took reigns of the state in 2017, UP had a green cover of around 6%, which has increased to 9.18% within three years.

The state has been organising Van Mahotsava since 2017, when the state planted 5 crore saplings in one day. This number increased to 11 crore in 2018, and to 22 crore in 2019. This year, that record has also been broken.

Earlier, the state had announced the setting up of a herbal belt that would stretch over 800 km. Plantation of more trees is bound to improve the air quality in the state, which would also lead to better immunity and improved health among the people of the state.