A large number of people across age groups participated in the launch of the ambitious campaign to plant 2.5 lakh tree saplings along the Rispana river in Dehradun on Sunday. The campaign started from Kerwan village after which the Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat also participated in a tree plantation drive at Mothrowala where a ‘Sadbhavna Vatika’ is being developed on the banks of Rispana.
Expressing his views on the occasion, the Chief Minister thanked the schools, various voluntary organisations, public groups and others for their cooperation in the campaign aimed at rejuvenating the Rispana river and bringing it back to its condition as Rishiparna. He observed that despite it being the rainy season, children, youth, women and senior citizens also participated enthusiastically in the campaign. He expressed his confidence that the campaign to rejuvenate rivers will be successful.
Rawat said that he had made the resolve to try to rejuvenate Rispana river but he was happy to find that common people have pitched in to save rivers like Bhagirath had done to bring the Ganga river to earth. He said that to save Rispana, children, youth, women and old people from Dehradun and even from outside Dehradun are keen. “Thousands of Bhagiraths today gathered in the land of river Ganga. Through collective efforts we would be able to rejuvenate Rispana and Kosi rivers and set an example,” the Chief Minister said.
Citing the example of Britain he said that if the British through collective efforts can clean Thames river then the people of Uttarakhand too can change the condition of the Rispana river.
He expressed confidence that with public cooperation, public energy and with positive spirit, success will be achieved in the efforts to rejuvenate the Rispana and Kosi rivers and set a model example like the British did in the case of Thames. He, further, said that efforts cannot stop today as it will be collective responsibility to look after the safety of the saplings planted during the campaign.
He hoped that water flow in the river will improve with tree plantation. In the next phase, cleanliness drive on the banks of river will be carried out but the spirit of public cooperation has to be kept alive.
The Dehradun District Magistrate SA Murugesan informed that during the ‘Mission Rispana to Rishiparna’ on July 22 at Kerwan village and surrounding 39 blocks, saplings of eighteen varieties of trees including Amaltas, Khadik, Kanji, Kanju, Shisham, Katchnar, bamboo, Belpatra, Amla, Harad, Baheda, Tejpat, Mehal,Tekoma and Pilan were planted.
Earlier, through nominated nodal officers, the Government nursery at circuit house distributed saplings of Kathal, Mango, Guava, Orange, lime, litchi, Kinnu and other fruit trees to the school children of different Government and private schools.
Municipal corporation of Dehradun, forest department, Eco-Task Force, Civil Defence, Army, ITBP, PWD, irrigation department, Jal Sansthan, information department, food and civil supplies, Panchayati Raj, rural development department, Peyjal Nigam and other government departments played an important role. MlAs including Vinod Chamoli, Ganesh Joshi, Munna Singh Chauhan, chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh and various other officers were also among those present on the occasion.