By Praveen Dwivedi

Bhopal, Feb 19 (IANS): Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (63), who has set several milestones in his long political career and especially through his flagship ‘Ladli Laxmi scheme which earned him the title of ‘mama (maternal uncle) of children, set yet another example of his commitment by completing two years of planting saplings on Sunday.

During a visit to Amarkantak on February 19, 2021, on the banks of the holy river Narmada, Chouhan had taken a vow to plant ‘one sapling every day'.

Since then, this process has continued and Chouhan begins his day by planting a sapling in the morning. Generally when he is here in Bhopal, Chouhan would visit Central Park from his official residence located in Shyamla Hills area to plant a sapling. But, even when he is out of Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, the process continues and he plants one sapling wherever he is on that particular day.

The journey of planting a sapling every day began on the occasion of Narmada Jayanti (February 19, 2021), which he is continuing even after two years. Be it the change of weather like winter, summer, rain or his own health problems, or being busy with discharging the responsibilities of the Chief Minister and the complications of migrations in the state and outside the state, no situation deters him from his vow of planting saplings every day.

According to the department of public relations of the Madhya Pradesh government, Chouhan has so far planted around 2,200 saplings in the past two years.

The activity of planting saplings expanded from many towns and cities of the state including Bhopal to 12 states of the country. Now, many social organisations and individuals have joined him in planting saplings.

Taking his vow further, the people have been called upon to plant saplings on important occasions of their lives such as birthdays, marriage anniversaries, death anniversary to keep the memories of their family members alive.

"As a result of his call, the activity of planting saplings expanded in the entire state including capital Bhopal. Importantly, even when the world was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the plantation drive continued with precautions. More than 1600 people have so far planted saplings with him since January 2022. In this way, the personal vow of CM Chouhan became the vow of the society," a public relations officer said.

There are varied saplings that Chouhan plants to fulfil his vow like Gul Bakawali, Sal, Parijat, Saptaparni, Ashok, Kadamba, Harsingar, Bel, Maulshri, Sheesham, Munga, Karanj, Gulmohar, Kachnar, Harr, Madhukamini, Arjun, Neem, Amla, Vilayati Imli, Haldu, and many more.

There is a long list of cities in different states where Chouhan planted saplings during his visit there like Manan Ashram in Bharuch (Gujarat), Godadevi Temple (Tamil Nadu), Haridwar, Varanasi, Shirdi, Nashik, Chinnajiyar Swami Ashram (Hyderabad), Maa Tripura Sundar Mandir (Tripura), Kerala, Puducherry and Chennai among other places.

On Sunday, the process of planting will complete two years. Chief Minister Chouhan is most likely to announce to continue his vow of planting saplings.