World Environment Day: Nearly 1,50,000 saplings planted in Coimbatore district

COIMBATORE: : Nearly 1.5 lakh saplings were planted in a single day in Coimbatore district on Thursday to mark the World Environment Day, said collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar. More than 30 varieties of native tree species have been planted.

Various departments -- including panchayats, the corporation, revenue and forest -- conducted a plantation drive in both urban and rural areas.

The administration used half-grown saplings, which were at least four to five feet tall, to ensure a high survival rate.

Around 15,000 trees were planted at the Arignar Anna Co-operative Industrial Estate in Kittampalayam in Sulur taluk.

Addressing the media after the inauguration of the drive, the collector stated, “The district’s forest cover and canopy cover will certainly improve with proper maintenance of these saplings. All these efforts are part of the state’s Green Tamil Nadu Mission.”

Meanwhile, the city corporation has targeted to plant 25,000 trees in all the five zones. The civic body’s main priority is to utilise available spaces, including parks, government vacant lands, school grounds, open spaces and sites in Vellalore.

Commenting on this plantation drive, corporation commissioner M Sivaguru Prabhakaran told TOI, “The main concept was to get 7-9 feet tall saplings. These will have low maintenance and a high survival rate. After a series of observations, it was found that short saplings were subjected to unintentional damage like being cut along with other invasive plant and getting crushed by stray cows or other animals. Watering them was a major challenge while bigger saplings can be watered only when required. The monsoon rains are sufficient for their growth in the upcoming months. All the saplings planted are ensured with geo-tagging and uploaded with photos in the Green Kovai Application.”

As part of the World Environment Day celebrations, students from corporation schools showcased various experiments on rainwater harvesting, sustainable lifestyles, eco-friendly projects and robotics concepts. The corporation launched an awareness campaign encouraging the public to stop using single-use polythene bags and other plastic materials. Private colleges, NGOs and various community organisations in the city organised awareness programmes, including student rallies.