MP announces drive to boost green cover in Amritsar

Amritsar, June 17

With heatwave continuing to torment lives across the state, Member of Parliament Gurjeet Singh Aujla has called for carrying out massive plantation drive to improve the green cover and overall environment of the city. He recently announced that a campaign is being run to plant over 10 lakh trees across several open spaces available in the city. For this, instructions were given to use the grounds in schools and create mini-forests there. He called upon residents to create small terrace gardens and vertical gardens if there is no open space available at their homes. He also instructed the Forest Department to maintain the already planted saplings in the heat and ensure that the old trees are revived to ensure their heritage character is preserved.

Meanwhile, residents too have come out to do their bit. Coming to the rescue of avians inside Company Bagh, volunteers from Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) have set up cooling stations, including bird feeders with water baths along the cluster of trees where birds have nests. These stations are also being set up at Amrit Anand park and several other green spaces. “Several birds, including parrots and pigeons, often take shelter in residential colonies, leading to strangling in electric wires or death due to heat. So, we came up with these feeding and water stations at parks and Company Bagh. These green areas attract a lot of birds,” shared Sumit Khanna, a student from GNDU. Sumit and some of his friends have been voluntarily visiting parks to see if there is space available for setting up these feeding stations.