On World Environment Day, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Urges People To Plant Trees And Shun Plastic Bags

Dehradun: Several tree plantation and cleanliness drives were held in Uttarakhand to mark the 46th World Environment Day on Wednesday (June 5) with Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat exhorting people to plant more trees and shun polythene (plastic bags). Mr Rawat planted different varieties of “lichi” at his official residence and asked people to preserve the tradition of planting trees on marriages and in memory of their ancestors. The chief minister took part in a cleanliness campaign along the Bindal river near Kargi Chowk and said it was not possible to preserve the environment without people’s wholehearted participation.

Also Read: World Environment Day: People Come Together To Phase Out The Use Of Plastic From The Hill Station Dhanaulti

He claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on cleanliness had sensitised people to the need to conserve the environment like never before. The Chief Minister also highlighted the initiatives taken by his government to revive the Rispana and Bindal rivers in Garhwal and the Kosi river in Kumaon of Uttarakhand.

Meanwhile, state Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj and Mussoorie BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi also launched a tree plantation and cleanliness drive in Gucchupani area under the Swachh Bharat, Swachh Garhwal campaign.

The minister said the programme had been launched from Garhwal as the “Char Dham yatra” was underway and the message of cleanliness could be sent easily to the maximum number of people. After the starting of the Mansarovar yatra, a similar campaign, Swachh Bharat, Swachh Kumaon, would be launched, he said. Volunteers of the Rishikesh-based Paramartha Niketan also carried out a cleanliness drive in Baghkhal area of the Rajaji National Park, where its founder Swami Chidananda Saraswati urged people to shun plastic bags.

Also Read: World Environment Day: 650 Volunteers Gather For Beach, Lake Clean-up And Tree Plantation In Maharashtra And Odisha

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.