Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, June 5: In a major green initiative, the ‘Green Revolution’ (Hasiru Kranti) campaign was launched at the premises of the new deputy commissioner’s office in Padil on Thursday to mark World Environment Day. The campaign comes years after over 500 trees were felled at the same site for the construction of the DC complex.
Spearheaded by the district administration and forest department, and supported by local environmental groups, the district-wide tree plantation drive aims to significantly increase green cover.
Dr Anand, the acting deputy commissioner and CEO of the Zilla Panchayat, inaugurated the drive by planting a sapling at the DC office premises.
Addressing the gathering, he stated, “Under the leadership of environmentalist Dr Smita Hegde, an initiative named 'Amara' has brought together various organisations in the district to identify suitable spots for planting and nurturing saplings. With the monsoon now active, the climate is ideal for this effort.”
Deputy conservator of forests Anthony Mariyappa, in his address, highlighted the scale of the effort: “Every year, five lac saplings are planted within Dakshina Kannada’s forest division. This year, the forest department will distribute 1.03 lac saplings through various organisations. While lacs of trees are cut annually for development projects, our duty is to compensate that loss by growing more trees.”
He cited the Mangaluru–Bengaluru highway project as an example, where “1.39 lac trees across 100 acres were felled for development. Development is essential, but so is ecological balance, which can only be maintained through active tree planting.”
Dr Smita Hegde, principal of CFAL and one of the key figures behind Amara, revealed ambitious goals for the campaign: “Under Amara, we plan to plant 10,000 saplings across Dakshina Kannada before the end of August. With support from several organisations, we’ve already identified 4,500 planting sites.”
She added, “We will be planting 350 saplings in the DC office premises itself. Saplings will also be planted along the stretch from Baliga Stores to the airport road, including road dividers. Our focus is on native and fruit-bearing trees like jackfruit, mango, and jamun.”
Also present at the event were additional deputy commissioner Dr Santosh, Mangaluru City Corporation commissioner Ravichandra Nayak, deputy director of the animal husbandry department Dr Arun Kumar, environmentalist Jeeth Milan, and representatives from numerous eco-conscious organisations.