Holi festival:  Nowshera Forest Division conducts special Plantation drives at various temples by planting Rudraksh Plants

JAMMU, March 07: A Plantation drive under J&K Green Drive was held on the eve of Holi day at Shiv Mandir Thandapani.

The main drive was conducted at Shiv Mandir Thandapani in which Member number of devotees and locals planted Rudraksh trees in the temple premises. Number of Plants were planted by local and students to celebrate the Holi day.  The plants were also distributed among the locals and students.  

Rangeel Singh, Block Forest Officer Sunderbani hold a special counter in the premises of Shiv Mandir  from where the locals and students collected plants of their choice. The Mandir management lauded the efforts of Forest Department for conducting such drives at Shiv Mandir Thandapani. While loading the efforts of Nowshera Forest Division member Shiv Temple Thandapani said that Forest department is conducting religious plantation drives in almost all the occasions, these drives gives a message of participatory forest management as well as aware the people about the greening of environment.

While speaking, Neelima Shah Divisional Forest Officer Nowshera said that Nowshera Forest Division is dedicated to conduct such drives. Rakesh Verma Range Officer Sunderbani appealed the devotees to help the first department in combating and managing the upcoming forest fires , as the temperature is souring day by day, forest department need the help of one and all to manage and control the forest fires. Similar other drives were conducted at Shiv temple Makol in which members of trust and devotees participated.

In another such drive which held at Lamman Temple large number of devotees participated. Sh. Rakesh Verma Range Forest Officer, Sunderbani said that such drives are conducted on special occasions so that maximum number of plants are to be planted. The main objective of such drives is to sensitize the people about the importance of plants. He appealed the participants to join hands to manage and control forest fires.

Neelima Shah, Divisional Forest Officer Nowshera  said that forest fires not only damages the forest trees but also cause serious  damage to the lives of animals, birds and micro-organism present in the soil. “It is our collective responsibility to control and manage forest fires”, he said. The objective of J&K Green drive is to reach maximum number of people by conducting such drives.

The whole drives were managed by Didar Singh, Rangeel Singh, Rajinder Dev Sharma and Ved Parkash Block Forest Officers with the active participation of Ishan Raina Fgd, Dogar Nath and field staff. 

The whole drive was conducted under the close supervision and directions of Vivek Verma, Conservator of Forests, West Circle Rajouri and Neelima Shah, Divisional Forest Officer, Nowshera.