Ranchi, In a bid to foster an emotional bond between people and nature, thousands of villagers will tie rakhis to around one lakh trees across 700 villages in Jharkhand on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan on Friday, an official said.
These trees have now been significantly contributing to villagers’ livelihoods. This is not the only case. He had directed the Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department to go beyond plantation drives and organise dedicated campaigns for fertilising, nurturing and protecting newly planted saplings. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
“We have set a target to tie rakhis to around one lakh trees in 700 villages on the day of Raksha Bandhan on Friday. It will continue for a month, and rakhis will be tied to around three lakh trees across 24 districts,” the PCCF said. A brainchild of Kumar, the initiative was started in 2004 from a once Maoist-affected village Lukaiya in Tundi block of Dhanbad district. Since then, more than 12,000 villages have been linked to this programme across the state, he said. “Through this initiative, more than 20,000 Mahua trees were protected in the Lukaiya village. The forest department’s efforts are reflected in the survey report, which says that the state’s forest cover has increased by 1,128 sq km over the past two decades since 2001. In the FSI 2023, the state’s forest cover was 23,765.78 sq km, which was 29.76 per cent of the total geographical area of the state, up from 22,637 sq km recorded in FSI 2001. Of the total forest cover, 2,635.35 sq km was very dense, 9,640.99 sq km moderately dense, and 11,489.44 sq km open forest, the report said.
The campaign helped many villages grow minor forest produce, adding to villagers’ livelihoods,” he said. Kumar said the initiative has also played a significant role in increasing Jharkhand’s forest cover. Jharkhand’s forest cover has been increasing for the past several years, he added, according to the Forest Survey of India . The PCCF said that the campaign has also helped in water conservation and regenerating forests to a great extent. During the 77th ‘Van Mahotsav’ held this month, Chief Minister Hemant Soren had said that environmental protection is a collective responsibility.
The initiative is part of the ‘Save Tree’ campaign that will continue for a month with a target of tying rakhis to three lakh trees in identified villages across 24 districts, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Sanjiv Kumar told PTI. “Raksha Bandhan is a festival for brothers and sisters. On this day, brothers pledge to protect their sisters. The campaign is all about engaging people with nature emotionally, during which they take a pledge to protect trees by tying rakhis. “If forests are preserved, there will be good rainfall, and with sufficient rainfall, we will be able to practice agriculture. Forests enhance biodiversity, which is beneficial for cultivation,” Kumar added.
It is also our supreme duty to protect the environment upon which our lives depend,” Kumar told PTI. Kumar will inaugurate the campaign by tying a rakhi to a tree at Jorad village in Gumla district on Friday.
