Forest Dept distributes saplings at administrative complex

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 11

Sohanjna saplings, the botanical name of which is Moringa Oleifera, were distributed among visitors of the district administrative complex by the staff of the Forest Department here on Wednesday.

Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Agrawal also gave them to the staff at the complex.

Charanjit Singh, Divisional Forest Officer, said: “The initiative was taken under the Tandarust Punjab mission of the government. Sohanjna was selected because of the health benefits of the tree. In fact, tree leaves are supposed to be a rich source of several vitamins and minerals.”

Balwinder Lakhewali, an environmentalist, told the The Tribune that Sohanjna was a wonder tree and was known to treat more than 200 human diseases. “All parts of the tree, including flowers, branches, and roots, are useful in some way or the other.”

Lakhewali said according to a research, a gram of leaves of the tree has calcium equivalent to the mineral contained in four glasses of milk and Vitamin C equivalent to that in seven oranges, potassium of three bananas, and three times more iron than spinach.

Residents appreciated the initiative. “I came here for some work and got a sapling. It is the right time because of the conducive weather for the growth of plants,” Kanwaljit Singh, a resident.