Prayagraj: More than 82 lakh saplings were planted across Prayagraj on Sunday as the district joined Uttar Pradesh’s mega plantation campaign under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ initiative. The drive, carried out at over 35,000 locations spanning urban areas, rural farmlands and forest zones, was part of the state’s ambitious target of planting 35 crore saplings in a single day.District forest officer (Prayagraj) and nodal officer for the plantation drive, Arvind Kumar, said the district had been assigned a target of planting 82,68,300 saplings, which was successfully achieved during the campaign.He said the Forest Department alone has a stock of more than one crore saplings in the district to support afforestation efforts. The campaign was conducted under the theme ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’, encouraging public participation in environmental conservation.More than 35,000 plantation sites were identified across urban and rural areas. According to the DFO, large tracts of land were selected for theme-based plantations under initiatives such as ‘Mission Chhaya’, ‘Vande Mataram Vatika’, ‘Maharshi Charak Aushadhi Vatika’, ‘Ramrajya Van’, ‘Kapivan’, ‘Samriddhi Van’, ‘Urja Van’, ‘Expressway Plantation’, ‘Aviral Dhara’, ‘Sahjan Bhandara’, ‘Aam Bhandara’, ‘Bhai-Behan Vriksharopan’, ‘Ek Ped Guru Ke Naam’ and ‘Green Chaupal’.The district-level campaign was part of Uttar Pradesh’s state-wide plantation drive aimed at planting 35 crore saplings in a single day. Officials said the initiative seeks to strengthen environmental conservation, increase green cover and move the state towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.
