HYDERABAD:Heartfulness Institute at Kanha Shantivanam, near Shamshabad, said that it has successfully completed a milestone of translocating over 1,000 trees in just over a year, with the replantation of the latest batch of 120 trees – coconut trees aged around 15 years from Karur district in Tamil Nadu. Sixty trees in the recent batch arrived Kanha Shanti Vanam on Saturday and the Heartfulness team successfully replanted them within the Shri Ram Chandra Mission premises in Kanha Shantivanam.
With this, the Heartfulness Institute achieves the rare distinction of having undertaken such a massive initiative of not just relocating but also nurturing the trees. Every year of the tree’s existence brings incremental benefits, by extending the longevity of the trees, and the institute preserves these benefits for the planet. Kamlesh Patel, also known as Daaji, the fourth Global Guide of Heartfulness said, “Apart from preservation of the planet itself in the physical sense, trees also exude spiritual qualities that help preserve and retain divinity and create the required balance on a different level.”
The Institute said it is planning to work closely with governments, corporates and individuals to increase awareness of the cause as well as to contribute towards the effort. Over the last three years, as part its focus to make the area totally self-sustainable, Heartfulness Institute has transformed the rocky, dry and arid land of Kanha Shanti Vanam into a green space. The tree count in the region has increased manifold, the variety of species multiplied to encourage plant diversity, the ground water recharging capability increased by creating artificial ponds for rainwater harvesting, hive boxes installed to attract bees and help speed-up the cross pollination, and flowering plants have been included to attract butterflies. Along with these initiatives, for the first time in 120 years of the drought prone region, attracted good rainfall last year, benefiting the neighbouring villages as well.
Work done so far
• The 1,000+ trees rescued and replanted so far include: avenue trees more than 8 years old; fifteen 150-year-old banyan trees from road widening projects along Tumkunuta Highway in Telangana; twenty 25- to 50-year-old Peepal trees; 120 coconut trees from Krishnagiri and a similar number from Karur district.
• An unheard of success rate of 80% survival.
• Over 1,20,000 saplings and trees have been planted, with an aim to increase the number to 2,00,000 in the next year.
• 675 species have been planted to increase plant diversity.
• 150 bee hives have been installed to ensure an increase in the bee population.
• A dozen water harvesting ponds have been created to recharge the ground water across the facility and a radius of several kms around the area.
• Along with these initiatives, in 2017 significant rainfall fell in the region for the first time after 120 years of drought like conditions.