BHUBANESWAR: Plantation drives in various schools and colleges marked the beginning of Van Mahotsav Week here Monday.
Educational institutions are conducting a number of activities on the occasion to sensitise students to plant trees and conserve the environment.
Students of BJEM School at BJB Nagar enacted a play based on plantation and environment safety under the guidance of their teachers in a glittering observance.
Students and teachers also planted saplings on school premises. They took a ‘green oath’ to keep planting saplings even after the weekly observance.
On this occasion, Principal of the School Sandhya Jena appreciated the efforts of the tiny-tots in spreading the message ‘Each One Plant One’.
Regional Director (RO) of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Bhubaneswar, T Mate graced the occasion among others and urged students to respect the environment.
Principal Jena said, “The chief purpose of organising Van Mahotsav is to encourage the masses to work for forest conservation and plantation drives. The event was launched in 1950 by the then Union Agriculture Minister KM Munshi.”
A student Baijayanti Prasad said, “These days, people are more focused on installing air-conditioners than planting trees. Celebrating Van Mahotsav just for a day may not help to combat environmental degradation.”
She recollects, “One day, my friend and I were going to a restaurant near Chandrasekharpur for lunch. When we reached Kalinga Hospital chowk, we stopped at the traffic signal. Interestingly, our scooty was the only vehicle at the zebra crossing at the time. There seemed to be no one on the road.”
“However, when I looked back, I saw many people sheltering from the sun under a tree. People don’t plant trees which protect us from the scorching sun. Instead, they complain about the hot weather and humidity. Don’t we all have a responsibility to do something about this?” She added. The story was a moving one for all the participants of the event.