1 cr trees for Mumbai-Agra highway

DNMUM176749 | 6/27/2010 | Author : Alok Deshpande | WC :259 | Nature & Environment

Sowing seeds is part of a campaign to create a green cover for NH3 which has been denuded of trees

One crore seeds are being planted along the Mumbai-Agra National Highway 3 as part of a three day campaign which will culminate on Sunday, June 27.
Part of the ‘sow one crore seeds’ campaign undertaken by Hariyali, a Thane-based NGO, is aimed at bringing greenery to a stretch which has witnessed cutting down of many trees due to the road widening project.
“With growing number of vehicles, road widening is inevitable. But this also means more number of trees will be cut down. In spite of rules and regulations, no one bothers to plant these trees again, and this made us take this campaign,” says Punam Singavi of Hariyali. Almost 2,500 citizen volunteers from Mumbai and Thane as well as an equal number of volunteers from Nashik and Dhule district are involved in this three day mammoth campaign which began on June 25.
Working in collaboration with the forest department, the NGO has identified 11 spots on the 325 kms highway where one crore seeds will be sown.
Sowing seeds is the first part of a three year long campaign. “We plan to continue till the sapling can be seen,” he said.
From seed collection to packing and sowing, it will be done on a voluntary basis. The seeds which will be sown include corinda, tamarind, neem, babul, bamboo, gulmohar, jambul and khair; all of which can grow without much care and water. Some seeds will be distributed among varkaris, the pilgrims who come walking to Pandharpur, so that they can sow seeds on their way back home and in their fields