Governor Acharya Devvrat has called upon the citizens of the state to plant saplings on special occasions like birthday and anniversary, which would not only add to the significance of the occasion but would also be a contribution towards environmental protection.The Governor was speaking on the occasion of 69th Van Mahotsava organized jointly by State Red Cross and Forest department along Shimla-Kalka Rail track near Taradevi, today.He asked the Forest department to mark places where the newly married couple could plant the saplings, which would increase the attraction of tourists coming to Shimla. He said planting a sapling would be a great memory which they would cherish throughout the life.Acharya Devvrat expressed happiness that the Forest department planted 80 lakh saplings this year and more plantations were being done on regular basis.The Governor said that environment degradation was the major cause of global warming which had come up as a big challenge to the entire world.
He stressed that by increasing the green cover we could avoid adverse effects of environmental imbalance. He called upon the students to actively participate in plantation drive of the State Government and also to campaign against the drug addiction.The Governor also honoured the personnel of forest department for their excellent services in environmental protection.Earlier, he along-with President of State Red Cross Hospital Welfare Section Dr. Sadhana Thakur planted sapling of ‘Chinar’.Students of Government Senior Secondary School, Boileuganj planted saplings of 200 Deodar on the occasion. A total 1000 plants were planted during this campaign.Advisor to the Governor Dr. Shashikant Sharma, Pradhan, Anandpur Panchayat Mahendra Singh, Councillors, Municipal Corporation Shimla Dr. Kimi Sud and Kamlesh Mehta, Additional Principal Chief Conservator R.M. Reddy, Chief Conservator R.K. Gupta, Commandant of the Territorial Army Col. Rajesh Sharma, Executive Secretary P.S. Rana, officials of State Red Cross and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.