Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday launched a campaign 'UP Goes Green', which soughts to create a world record by planting five crore saplings at different locations across the state within a span of 24 hours.
The campaign was kicked-off by Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in the state capital, while his son Akhilesh planted a sapling each in Kannauj and Rasoolabad area in Kanpur rural. He was accompanied by his MP wife Dimple Yadav.
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The drive that has been flagged off on Monday will come to an end on Tuesday at 10 am.
More than 10 lakh people across the state were involved in the record-breaking drive which aimed at planting five crore saplings at 6,161 places in one day.
UP CM Akhilesh Yadav with wife Dimple Yadav during the drive. Image Source: The Indian Express
Various schools, NGOs, government departments, military and para-military forces were roped in by the state government.
While the Tata Energy Research Institute (Teri) was verifying the digging of pits for the plantation, a third party was also tasked to monitor the entire process.
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The plants would be monitored by GPS and a command and control room has been set up for the purpose at the forest department headquarters in the state capital.
"More than 80 varieties, including Goolar, Tamarind, Teak, Sagaun, Arjuna, Bael and Jamun, of plants have been planted on Monday during the drive," a forest official told IANS.
Endeavouring to plant 80 species of saplings, the CM told a leading daily that it is the "largest plantation drive on earth." (IANS)
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