Noida: Over 10,67,000 saplings were planted across Noida and Greater Noida on Friday (August 9) as Gautam Buddh Nagar participated in an afforestation campaign carried out across Uttar Pradesh, officials said. In doing so, Gautam Buddh Nagar bettered its own target of planting 7,40,931 saplings, the officials said. Last year, the district had registered around six lakh new plants during the campaign. “Initially our target was to plant 7,40,931 saplings, but we ended up planting 10,67,000 saplings today, over three lakh more than what was proposed,” District Magistrate Brajesh Narain Singh said.
Uttar Pradesh Excise Minister Jai Pratap Singh and BJP leader Mahesh Sharma also participated in the drive, even as thousands of citizens, across age groups, and government officials chipped in for the massive campaign.
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The district magistrate also exhorted the public to not only plant the saplings but resolve to take care of it and monitor its growth.
Noida and Greater Noida are adjoining Delhi and sensitive from the point of view of pollution. In such backdrop, afforestation at this scale will certainly help us cut down pollution and tackle emerging environmental issues, Mr Singh said.
Divisional Forest Officer P K Shrivastava said the drive was carried out at 1,421 sites in the district.
State government departments and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) among others largely contributed in the plantation drive. The main event was held at the Surajpur wetland, where Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh and Dadri MLA Tejpal Nagar also participated, the Divisional Forest Officer said.
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The UP government had earlier announced planting of 22 crore saplings on Friday, marking the 77th anniversary of the Quit India Movement.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the afforestation drive by planting ‘Harishankari’ at Jaitikheda in Allahabad in the morning. Later in the evening, he announced that 25 crore saplings would be planted in the Van Mahotsav next year.
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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.
