Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi

Udupi, Aug 7: Karnataka forest department Kundapur, district administration, and Zilla Panchayat, together organized the inaugural of the ‘Laksha Vruksha Abhiyan’ at Ammani Ramani Hall on Tuesday August 6.

The programme was inaugurated by B Ramanath Rai, minister for forests, ecology, and environment, inaugurated the programme. Vinay Kumar Sorake, minister-in-charge, Abhaychandra Jain, sports and fisheries minister, were present on the occasion.

L C Soan, Richard Rebello, and Gururaj Sanil were felicitated with the ‘Aranya Mitra Prashasthi’ from the forest department. An amount of Rs 25,000 was given to Uttaragandh people by Abhaychandra Jain.

Speaking on the occasion, Rai said that it’s high time to protect the forest and clean up the environment. “Humans are dependent on nature the same way as we depend on food. So, we should keep it eco-friendly. The aim of this campaign is to protect trees through which we can protect nature and the environment,” he said.  He appealed to all to plant two to three plants every year.

Sorake said that the district is a sensitive area, so stability of nature is important. “This year, we got more rains. The expected rainfall is 160 inches, but this time it has touched 280 inches. This shows  awareness among the public about the need to preserve the forest and natural resources,” he added.

“The public is getting affected by the deemed forest and CRZ issues. There should be a provision for deemed forest and relaxation in CRZ like Goa and Kerala. SC/ST should be provided with title deeds for their permanent stay. Cutting of trees illegally will not be allowed at any cost and the forest officials have been given complete power to protect trees,” said Sorake.

Upendra Nayak, ZP president, Mamtha R Shetty, ZP vice-president, Prabhakar Sharma, CEO, S Shanthappa, chief forest officer, A K Singh, and Manjunath Shetty were present.