BHUBANESWAR: Daringbadi, the popular hill station of Odisha, will be put on the global cherry blossom map, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said on Friday.
Attending the 75th state-level Van Mahotsav celebration at Dumduma government high school here, Majhi said, the climatic conditions of Daringbadi in Kandhamal district have been found to be suitable for growing cherry blossoms. The hill station attracts a large number of visitors during winter and is also referred as Odisha’s Kashmir. The state government has procured 1,000 cherry blossom plants for plantation in the pilot phase, sources said.
“Apart from Japan, cherry blossoms are found in the northern states of Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh along with the north eastern regions of Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland. Daringbadi also has similar climatic condition for which cherry blossoms from Meghalaya have been brought for plantation in the hill station. This is an initiative to put Daringbadi on world’s cherry blossom map and transform it into a more happening tourist destination in the country,” the chief minister said.
Majhi also announced that the state government will plant five crore saplings this year under various programmes and schemes. “Odisha is on top among all states in terms of plantation carried out under Prime Minister’s ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ initative. We have a population of 4.5 crore. I urge all citizens to join the drive and plant at least one tree each to make the initiative a grand success,” he said.
The CM also said that around 19 lakh palm trees will be planted in the forest blocks this year to increase elephant fodder and curb lightning hazards. “Odisha like any other state is also concerned about the adverse impact of global warming and climate change and is taking all measures including large scale plantation drive to strike an ecological balance. Our state will play a key role in addressing adverse impact of global warming and climate change in the coming days,” he said.
A plantation programme was carried out on the school premises, while the state-level Biju Patnaik Award for outstanding forest conservation and afforestation work was presented to Batasar Van Sanrakshyan Samiti, Nabarangpur, and Sagarpali Van Sanrakshyan Samiti, Sundargarh. The two organisations were presented with `1 lakh and an appreciation letter each.
Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia, Bhubaneswar-Ekamra MLA Babu Singh, additional chief secretary, Forest, Satyabrata Sahu, PCCF & HoFF Debidatta Biswal and other officials were present.