New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the Indian Paris Olympics contingent to join the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign.

During his interaction with the contingent at his residence on Thursday, the Prime Minister highlighted the need to create awareness about the importance of planting trees to save the environment.

"Today, the country is running a campaign called 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' to save the environment. I urge all of you to join this campaign and plant a tree with your mother. Many of you come from villages and ordinary families. In Paris, you saw how they are promoting the environment. So, when you visit your villages, encourage people to adopt natural farming," the Prime Minister told the sportspersons.

He also said the contingent members should inspire the youth to focus on fitness.

PM Modi expressed confidence that the sportspersons will also inspire everyone in the direction of conservation of the environment and nature.

The ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign was launched by PM Modi on World Environment Day. He had planted a Peepal tree at Buddha Jayanti Park in the national capital. In a post on X, he wrote, “I call upon everyone, in India and around the world, to plant a tree in the coming days as a tribute to your mother.”

The campaign has set an ambitious target of planting 800 million saplings by September 2024 and 1.4 billion saplings by March 2025. This large-scale initiative aims to enhance environmental protection and foster a sustainable future.

While interacting with the sportspersons, PM Modi said that playing and winning in Khelo India has become an important programme for the country and needs to be given even more strength and attention.

The PM said that India was giving priority to developing a world-class sports ecosystem and it was very important to find and nurture players from the grassroots.