Amritsar: A pilot on a mission to raise 'green' awareness

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 28

Having worked as a pilot for more than 40 years, including a decade-long stint with the Directorate of Agricultural Aviation, Parveen Singh Tung is now on a mission to raise awareness about environment, especially restoration of forests.

Tung said the aerial seeding is the fastest, cheapest and easiest way for forestation in the hills, wastelands and other inaccessible areas. Tung had retired as a senior flight operations inspector with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. He was a part of the two-member Indian team that went for an aerial seeding study tour to Canada in 1987 under a United Nations programme. “In 1985, it was felt that against the requirement of 33-36 per cent, the country had only 12.5 per cent forest area,” he said.

The Directorate of Agriculture Aviation which was closed in 1994 predominantly worked to control locust swarms coming to India from across the borders. However, in the later years, it also worked to increase forest areas through aerial seeding of forests.

“Presently, the forest cover in India is around 23 per cent. But then again it is a race against time. We do not have enough time left,” he said, adding that though the forests develop naturally, as due to excessive deforestation even the mother trees have been cut, there was a need for outside help which could be provided through aerial seeding.

Tung said there was a need to either revive the Directorate of Agriculture Aviation or constitute a dedicated body with the help of which multirole aircraft can help in aerial seeding as well as checking forest fires or controlling pest attacks over a large area.

He said fast restoration of natural forest cover was required to control air pollution, regulate seasons, maintain hydrological regimes, check soil erosion, reduce draughts and floods, and maintain ecological balance and global warming.

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