As part of their green initiatives, the district panchayat authorities planted several neem tree saplings at the panchayat complex here on Tuesday.
The planting of the saplings was inaugurated by district panchayat member Karuvallil Sasi. District panchayat president S. Jayamohan presided over the event.
District panchayat secretary K. Anil Kumar said that neem saplings were selected because of the tree’s medicinal properties. Mr. Jayamohan said that at a time when organic farming was being promoted in a big way by the district panchayat, neem leaves and seeds could be applied as effective pesticides without any side effects.