Bhubaneswar: With a view to strengthening the Mahanadi river basin, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday launched the ‘Green Mahanadi Mission’, a plantation drive along the Mahanadi river basin at the sandy bank of the river at Sonepur.
Naveen said it is an important programme and under this, two crore saplings will be planted in 1,303 villages across 15 districts where Mahanadi passes through.
Expressing happiness over the huge participation of people, he said, “With the massive plantation drive, not only the water flow of Mahanadi will increase it will also help stop the soil erosion.”
“Mahanadi is not just a river. It is our mother. It is closely associated with the livelihood of our people. Starting from agricultural activities to drinking water, we depend on this river. Lakhs of people in our state depend on the river for their livelihood. It is our responsibility to protect Mahanadi,” Naveen said.
He further said the ‘Save Mahanadi’ campaign has united crores of people living alongside the river. This has created awareness among people to fulfil the state’s legitimate demand.
Under this mission, over two crore trees will be planted over 16,500 hectares along either side of the Mahanadi, Tel and Ib rivers as well as along roadside length of about 5,000 km over a period of five years. The plantation will be carried out on forest, revenue and private land in a partnership mode at a cost of `500 crore. In 2018-19, about 63 lakh saplings will be planted.
Flood scene reviewed
Sambalpur: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik attended a high-level review meeting on the flood situation in 20 riverside districts of the Mahanadi during his visit to Sambalpur. He said 10 Collectors have been instructed to remain alert and take necessary steps for rescue and relief operations. “I’ve just had a review of the rainfall in 10 districts. I’ve instructed officers that wherever damage has been done, it should be restored within 24 hours,” Naveen said.
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