VISAKHAPATNAM: TO meet the target of planting 2.3 crores of saplings in the current fiscal, the Forest Department has started a new initiative ‘Plants on Wheels’ across the district. The department has deployed 43 vehicles, one in each mandal, to distribute saplings among individuals. The programme was launched on Sunday across all the 43 mandals in the district.
With the government’s directions, the Forest department had raised 2.3 crores of all varieties of saplings. Already with the help of various government offices, commercial establishments, industries and educational institutions, the department had distributed lakhs of saplings.
The Forest officials have observed that though the individuals evince interest to plant saplings, many do not have time to buy saplings and do not know where to get them. Against this backdrop, the Forest officials started the ‘Plants on Wheels’ to provide saplings at the doorstep (Mee Inti Vaddake Mokkalu).
“In association with the social forestry wing, we have deployed one vehicle in each mandal to distribute homestead plants, including lemon, casurina, pomegranate, custard apple, sapodilla, guava, mango and orange. We are distributing several saplings free of cost and some varieties at a very less price,” said district forest officer B Dhananjaya Rao.
Each vehicle carries about 2,000 saplings and once distribution is completed, the vehicles have been directed to contact the forest divisional offices at Paderu, Narsipatnam and Visakhapatnam and social forestry nurseries for reloading of saplings. The ‘Plants on Wheels’ would ply till the target is achieved, Dhananjaya Rao added. A large number of people gather at the vehicles to take the saplings. With the overwhelming response, social forestry DFO P Suryanarayana directed the employees to distribute saplings in the urban areas too.