Ranipet district creates world record by planting more than 52 lakh palmyra seeds

RANIPET: The Ranipet district administration in Tamil Nadu has set a world record by planting more than 52 lakh palmyra seeds in multiple locations in five hours.
Several Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers, school students and volunteers planted 52.81 lakh palmyra palm seeds in 880 different locations in 288 village panchayats in all the seven blocks of the district.
Textiles and handloom minister R Gandhi kick-started the world record event in Walajah panchayat union while Ranipet district collector and district rural development agency (DRDA) chairman D Baskarapandian and DRDA project director Loganayagi launched the event simultaneously in different locations.
The effort was recognized as a world record by the Elite World Records, Asian Records of Academy, India Records Academy and Tamilan Book of Records after their eight senior adjudicators witnessed and ratified it in person, said Baskarapandian.
The initiative is a part of the 'Pasumai Tamilagam' scheme launched by chief minister M K Stalin to increase the forest cover in the state from the present 22% to 33% in the next 10 years. The government proposes to plant 2.8 crore saplings under the scheme in the next 10 years to increase the forest cover.
Baskarapandian said MGNREGS workers, school students and volunteers gathered palmyra seeds for the last three months for the record-breaking project. They planted the seeds after removing karuvelam tree (prosopis juliflora), a native species of Africa which absorbs more water and prevents the growth of local tree species. Palmyra, Tamil Nadu's state tree, is more beneficial to soil and people than most of the other species.