The Vanamahotsava celebrations organised by the State government on Friday in the capital and in the districts may well create a world record for taking up the largest sapling planting programme ever by a State. The celebrations were inaugurated by Chief Minister K. Rosaiah amidst students who turned up in thousands to plant a sapling and in the process enter the record books.
The venue of the event, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), Rajendranagar, was teeming with school students, who were hoping to break the Guinness Book of World Record set at Dungarpur district in Rajasthan, where 6,11,137 saplings were planted in a single day.
“To make this programme a success, we have made sure that these saplings and small trees being planted across the State are nurtured for a long time. We are making efforts to protect these trees and we are sure we will enter the Guinness Book of World Records,” said Minister for Forests, Environment, Science and Technology, Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy.
The Forest Department authorities also informed that close to four crore seedlings have been raised in various facilities and planting will continue throughout the rainy season. Authorities also pointed out that Commonwealth Games memorial plantations of 55,000 trees were being planted in and around Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Vijayawada and Tirupati.
Home Minister P. Sabitha Indra Reddy, Major and Medium Irrigation Minister Ponnala Laxmaiah, Minister for Agriculture N. Raghuveera Reddy and Mayor Banda Kartika Reddy were present.
