Chandigarh, Jun 27 (IANS): Rotary International District 3080 on Sunday announced to plant 15 lakh saplings here.

This was stated by Ajay Madan who will take over as Rotary District Governor on July 1.

Addressing over 500 Rotary leaders at the virtual Rotary District Training Assembly, Madan said nearly 3,500 Rotarians in District 3080 and the new leaders are all geared to "Serve to Change Lives", Rotary International's theme.

He said this year the fourth Indian in Rotary's 116th years of service, Shekhar Mehta from Kolkata, would take up the leadership of 1.2 million Rotarians of the world.

District 3080 comprises Chandigarh, parts of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, with nearly 86 Rotary Clubs.

Kurukshetra-based Madan said 2,000 new Rotarians would be brought into the fold of Rotary to make a difference in the lives of the people.

Rotary is known worldwide for eradicating polio, and in the new year starting July 1, District 3080 intends to plant 15 lakh trees during July itself, collect nearly 1 lakh units of blood through regular blood donation camps, provide 10,000 benches in the schools, and much more.

Madan said it would be a unique honour for the Rotarians that the world President of Rotary International Mehta would be arriving in Kurukshetra in Haryana to formally install the District Governor and team for 2021-22.

Rotary District will be signing a memorandum of understanding with HARTRON on July 1 for providing free computer training and arrange employment for those who lost their parents in Covid-19.

A warehouse in District 3080 would be setup in Chandigarh to help the needy during disaster management.