Governor Acharya Devvrat today planted a sapling at village Dhanain near forest nursery, Mashobra in Shimla district along with the students of Mashobra Senior Secondary School.In the second phase of 67th Van Mahotsava organized by State Red Cross Society in collaboration with the Forest Department, the Governor said that he himself and State Red Cross would help the Forest Department to achieve the target of 90 lakh saplings to be planted this year. He said that students of various schools would also be involved in this drive.He said that he had decided to launch a special drive with the help of Forest Department under which clusters of five villages would be formed in the State where the plantation drive would be undertaken on massive scale on special occasions like birthdays, marriage anniversaries, etc.
He urged every individual to plant one sapling in the season. He said that it was a best time of plantation and we should utilize this to plant more and more saplings.He directed the Forest Department to ensure the protection of these plants and also their survival. He appealed the students to actively participate in such activities to increase the green cover of their areas besides making others aware about environmental protection. He motivated the students to narrate about the importance of plants and forest mentioned in ancient scriptures.Executive Members of State Red Cross, Officers of Forest Department, school children and other prominent people of the area also joined the plantation drive.