Mass cleaning drives, planting of saplings and awareness programmes marked the World Environment Day in Coimbatore district on Monday.
Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati presented ‘Green Champion Award 2022’ to V. Chandrasekar, convenor of the Forest First Forum of Siruthuli; P.J. Balamurugan of Target Zero; and One Tree Per Week (OTPw) Foundation. The award also carries a cash prize of ₹1 lakh.
Forest Department, Young Indians, Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB), Coimbatore Corporation and the Tamil Nadu Police conducted a mass cleaning drive on the stretch between Mangarai and Anaikatti. Around 150 volunteers removed 500 kg of plastic waste and bottles.
IFGTB commemorated World Environment Day by organising various awareness campaigns, events and a cyclothon – an awareness cycle rally. Institute director C. Kunhikannan inaugurated the programme and said that overuse and misuse of the natural resources were causing environmental degradation at an alarming rate.
An awareness song on nature penned by Priya Karanavar and composed and sung by senior principal scientist Kannan C.S. Warrier was released during the occasion.
With an aim to plant 1.1 crore saplings in Tamil Nadu this year, Cauvery Calling of the Isha Foundation on Monday kick-started its series of sapling plantation drives in the State.
A sapling plantation ceremony was conducted at the Raintree Hotels, St. Mary’s Road, Chennai. Students from Isha Samskriti and Isha Home School took part in a plastic cleanup drive at River Noyyal in Coimbatore district which was inaugurated by Pollachi MP K. Shanmugasundaram.
Siruthuli organised a plantation drive at Valankulam which was inaugurated by the District Collector in the presence of Corporation Commissioner M. Prathap and Siruthuli managing trustee Vanitha Mohan.
The NGO will plant more than 100 saplings at the northern portion of the tank. Siruthuli and Axis Bank conducted an awareness camp at Valankulam to highlight the importance of water bodies and its conservation in which around 100 volunteers from PSG College of Arts and Science took part.
The NGO and the Indian Oil Corporation initiated works at a new plantation site at M.R Garden in Perur Chettipalayam. Siruthuli along with Bosch carried out a cleanliness drive at a plantation site at Thudiyalur on June 3.
Along with Apexon, the NGO carried out a plantation drive at Thudiyalur on June 3, said a release.
Udhagamandalam
The Nilgiris Collector, S.P. Amrith, inaugurated the planting of over 300 saplings at Kallakorai in Ithalar.
Lime, Syzigium cumini and jacaranda saplings are to be planted, the district administration said.
Speaking at the event, the Collector said that each household in the Nilgiris is being encouraged to plant a tree each, while the administration is also encouraging organic farming and discouraging the use of plastics in the district.
Various departments and local bodies will undertake the planting of 4,990 saplings, the Collector said.
Planting of bamboo was undertaken near streams and check dams by the Forest Department in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.
Officials said that the bamboo was an important source of food for a variety of wildlife, including elephants, and also provided nesting habitats for many species of birds in the tiger reserve.
