Abohar: 250 medicinal saplings boost Green City campaign

Abohar, September 1

The Green City (NGO) team got a big morale and logistic boost on Sunday when 250 medicinal saplings were planted with the help of the former Lions Club International regional chairman, BL Khatri and his family, who also provided tree guards for the saplings.

The family took the initiative as a tribute to eminent environmentalist and philanthropist Gauri Shankar Khatri, who died at the age of 78 in July 2010. He planted thousands of saplings in the local parks, educational institutions, and cremation grounds during a decade, and he also nourished them during his morning walks. He had been helpful to many educational institutions and NGOs in welfare activities and was honoured many a time for his services to society.

The Green City coordinator, Dr Amandeep Arora, said over 600 saplings had been planted in the past few months to beautify the bus stand road, Rani Jhansi market and Abha Square, among other places.

He said the NGO also carried out the responsibility of taking care of the saplings. He said the NGO worked to secure the plants and replaced damaged plants, adding that they prioritised medicinal plants, which were considered beneficial for the environment.

Dr Arora said at each plantation ceremony, people were motivated to plant more saplings to preserve the environment. He said there were concerns over reports that some iron-made tree guards had been stolen, adding that which was why they have started strengthening the rest of the tree guards besides using cement concrete and bamboo-made tree guards.