DSGMC to launch plantation drive to create ‘urban forests’

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 1                     

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) will launch a mega plantation drive on massive scale during monsoon season to create "urban forests" in Delhi to make the environment clean and green.

The DSGMC has successfully planted around one lakh trees in the city in past five years to save it from pollution, deforestation and global warming in accordance to preaching of Sikh gurus.

The DSGMC will start distributing free saplings of plants and trees mentioned in “Gurbani” such as "neem" and "ber', along with others species, beneficial for the environment.

The free sapling of tree will be distributed from the Sikh shrines mainly Gurdwara Rakab Ganj and Gurdwara Bangla Sahib which are visited by a large number of devotees every day.

The DSGMC will distribute around 10,000 saplings of fruit-bearing trees and those that absorb air pollution species of trees like mango, amla, jamun, gulmohar, neem and ber will be distribute among gurdwara devotees as prasad to promote environmental protection and a sustainable ecosystem in the national Capital said Manjit Singh GK, DSGMC president.

The committee organises a massive afforestation drive on Gurpurb by distributing free tree saplings and also conduct tree plantations in 29 educational institutions run by it and other places connected with the Sikh religions for making the occasion memorable.

The DSGMC procures tree saplings from private nurseries, government institutions like NDMC, DDA for its free distributions. Besides, some Sikh philanthropists have also come forward to donate tree saplings at massive scales in gurdwaras for its free distributions.

The DSGMC plans to expand the progrmme by increasing the network and double the plantation in next two years.