Public participation and BSF’s support helped Indore achieve tree plantation world record: Mayor

Indore, Jul 19 (PTI) Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava on Friday said the world record of planting 11 lakh saplings in a single day could be achieved by the city through public participation as well as with the active support of the Border Security Force (BSF).

On July 14, Indore set a new Guinness World Record in the category of “the most trees planted by a team in 24 hours” by planting more than 11 lakh saplings.

Talking to PTI, Bhargava said, “On June 6, when I received a call from Urban Development Minister and former mayor Kailash Vijayvargiya, about planting 51 lakh saplings in a single day in Indore, I welcomed the idea. We discussed that it will be more practical if we plan to plant these many trees over a period of seven days.”

It was also decided that Indore will beat Assam’s record by planting 11 lakh saplings a single day in the presence of the team of the Guinness Book of World Records.

“The biggest challenge was to identify a place where at least 11 lakh saplings could be planted in a single day on July 14 for the world record. After a thorough search of the surroundings, we chose Revati Hill, half of which is with the BSF, while the rest belongs to the revenue department. We talked to the BSF officials and they not only agreed for plantation but also assured maximum participation from their side,” Bhargava said.

“We divided the entire hill into nine zones and those were divided into 100 sub-zones. Two ponds were made on the hill for sustaining these plants in the summer season and 3,000 workers and volunteers were deployed in the area on July 14,” he added.

Of the 11 lakh saplings, the BSF personnel planted 3 lakh saplings, forest and civic body teams planted 1 lakh plants while social groups planted 7 lakh saplings, he said,

“The target was achieved without any chaos or mismanagement,” the mayor said, adding that a total of 51 lakh saplings were planted during the week-long drive.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated Indore on setting the world record. He also participated in the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign and planted a sapling in Indore on that day.

According to the Guinness World Record website, the previous record for the most saplings planted in 24 hours was 9,21,730. It was achieved by the Assam government’s Forest Department at Udalguri in September 2023.