Sambalpur, June 5: The forest department has decided to take several measures to turn the bank of river Mahanadi into a lush green corridor, said divisional forest officer(DFO) Sanjit Kumar while addressing a huge gathering here Tuesday.
The DFO was speaking at a meeting organised by Sambalpur forest division to observe the World Environment Day.
Local MLA Raseswari Panigrahi, agriculture department principal secretary Sourav Garg, Collector Samarth Verma, SP Sanjiv Arora and principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) Om Prakash Singh were among the guests who attended the programme and offered their inputs for the cause.
The department would launch Sabuja Mahanadi Abhiyan, a drive to turn Mahanadi river bank green, and people as well as various organizations would chip in with their contributions. Besides, the horticulture and watershed and soil conservation departments will also help to make the campaign a success.
The government has decided to plant at least two crore saplings on 16,500 hectare of land along Mahanadi of which 12.20 lakh trees would be planted in Sambalpur district alone. Apart from government lands, the saplings would be planted on private and forest lands also. The forest department would ensure proper care and preservation of the saplings planted on private farm land, the DFO said on the occasion.
Jema Meher of Maneswar block and Gobardhan Bag of Kuchinda block were given prizes for their contributions in protecting the environment.
While a musical team led by Mohit Swain performed with ‘Protection of Mahanadi’ as the theme, a signature campaign was launched to mark the occasion.
The guests first planted saplings at Ring Road to launch the campaign with the rolling of an awareness chariot.
PNN
