Hamirpur Rotary Club celebrates Van Mahotsav, plants saplings

Members of the Rotary Club planted saplings of medicinal plants at the Hira Nagar forest near Hamirpur on Sunday.

Sangeeta Chandel, Divisional Forest Officer (IDP), who presided over the Van Mahotsav organised by the club here, said adding medicinal and fruit plants in pine forests would build new forest ecology and help in combating monkey menace in the area. She said with the felling of fruit trees in the forests, the conflict between human and wild animals had increased. Everyone should come forward to develop forest cover and plant as many as trees one could do, she added.

The president of the club, Bhagawati Prasad Sharma, said several varieties of medicinal plants, including harad, baheda, amla and kachnar, were planted.

He said since establishment of the club here in 1985, Rotary Club celebrated Van Mahotsav by planting trees every year.

He also thanked Ankit Singh, DFO (Territorial), and Vikas, DFO (HQ), for their support. Inner Wheel president Ina Chauhan; Forest Guard Vikas; Van Mitra Sanjana Thakur; Rotarians NK Sharma, Ajay Singh Baniyal, Rakesh Sharma and JP Agnihotri were also present on the occasion.