By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 16 Jul: Under the PM’s “Ek Vriksh Maa Ke Naam” initiative, Uttaranchal University celebrated the state festival of Uttarakhand, “Harela”, today, by contributing to the national tree plantation campaign. The UU-Unnat Bharat Abhiyan team of Uttaranchal University, with the help of local villagers, organised a plantation drive in five villages within the Sahaspur block i.e., Kotra Santaur, Kolhupani, Hariyawala Kalan, Majhaun, and Chauki, which the university has adopted.
During this plantation drive, more than 100 plants of medicinal and ritual significance were planted in the villages. Dr Rajendra Prasad, Coordinator of UU-Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, explained to local villagers the critical role of trees that significantly mitigate climate change and global warming. He also highlighted the medicinal importance of these trees.
The Gram Pradhans, including Anju Tomar (Gram Pradhan of Kotra Santaur and Kolhupani), Rajni Devi (Gram Pradhan of Hariyawala Kalan), Mehroon Nisha (Gram Pradhan of Majhaun), and Suman (Gram Pradhan of Chauki), along with social activists Surendra Singh Tomar, Manjit Singh Negi, Manmohan Lal Sharma, Muhammad Rashid and Vivek Kumar, actively contributed to this plantation drive.
In addition to the above, the School of Agriculture, Uttaranchal University, also planted many medicinal plants in the university campus. Dr MP Singh, Dean of the School of Agriculture, expressed his greetings for the Harela festival. He explained to all faculty members and students that Harela is not just a festival of greenery but also marks the beginning of prosperity through monsoon rain. He said that Harela is a festival that connects human beings with Mother Nature. He emphasised that planting trees is extremely beneficial for the environment and encouraged everyone to plant more trees, especially medicinal and useful ones.
