VIJAYAWADA: Director General of Police (DGP) Gautam Sawang on Wednesday launched a massive plantation programme, at AP Sixth Battalion in Mangalagiri on Wednesday.Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharitha attended the event virtually and praised the efforts of the police in improving the state’s green cover.
Addressing the media, DGP Sawang said the plantation programme is being taken up under the Development of Urban Forest scheme at eight locations in the state with Battalion presence, and added a total of 19,774 saplings in 15.35 acres will be planted using the Miyawaki method, which involves planting two to four trees per square metre.
Miyawaki forests grow in two to three years and are self-sustaining.He praised ADGP-Battalions Shankabrata Bagchi and forest officials for identifying suitable location and spreading awareness on the need of improving the green cover.
The DGP explained that using the Miyawaki methodology native urban forest ecosystems can be created much quicker as more number of plants and shrubs will be planted together. “Vegetation becomes much denser than conventional plantations and it has the structure of a mature natural forest. These forests have thirty times more trees than others and are perfect for cities, where land is scarce,” Sawang explained.
Later, he planted a sapling in the APSP Batallion ground and urged other police personnel to do the same for the cause.