NEW DELHI: In order to keep its green cover growing the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) on Tuesday planted 50 plants in the Phase 1 of a massive tree plantation drive, ‘Own your tree’.
More than 200 members from the club contributed to this initiative and helped in planting plants in the forest area of the club. Under the initiative, each member had to purchase a plant and be responsible for its maintenance.
“Our thick forest was getting denuded so all the members came forward to stop the spread of alien plant species in the forest. We planted native trees to help the biodiversity of the area. We are all aware of the increasing levels of pollution in the city and all of us need to contribute in any way we can,” Anuva Saurabh, the lady captain of the Delhi Golf Club told this newspaper.
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In this Phase, the club has procured around 700 plants of native trees like Sausage tree, Pilkhan, Goolar, Neem, Baheda and Arjun.
“I have been playing golf since 1995. The greenery here makes you feel a new person all over again. We have lost a lot of trees and this plantation drive is like a green feast for the eyes,” said Meena Khanna, a member at the Delhi Golf Club.
The plants have been marked with placards with the name of the tree and name of the member who planted it.
Ravinder Singh Bedi, president of Delhi Golf Club, said that the concept behind the drive was inspired from gurudwaras in Punjab which distribute plants as prashad (oblation).
The next phase of the tree plantation would be started next year. “We will move ahead with Phase 2 from March to September. We are planning to get 1,000-2,000 plants,” he said.