KARUKUTTY (ERNAKULAM): Change, whatever its magnitude, can happen only with hard work on the ground. Or else, ideas will remain what they are: ideas. The Karukutty grama panchayat is aggressively pursuing an imaginative idea and an ambitious dream: former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's dream of seeing a billion trees being planted all over India as part of the global ten billion trees programme.
It was during his visit here to inaugurate the second phase of the Haritha Keralam project this June 5 (World Environment Day) that Mr. Kalam put forth the mission of a billion trees for billion people of India over the coming three years as part of the global ten billion tree programme. Happy to note that eight million trees are proposed to be planted as part of the second phase of Haritha Keralam, the former President said: “Today, I can see the momentum of the movement in Karukutty panchayat.”
Now two years into its implementation, jointly by the panchayat and the Forest Department, the afforestation programme has evolved into a massive people's initiative in sustainable development.
From school students to women members of Kudumbasree units, hundreds are participating in the green mission of the panchayat, thereby setting an admirable example in ecological conservation involving the local community.
Pointing out that the panchayat had planted roughly 25,000 saplings under Haritha Keralam during 2009-10, Karukutty panchayat president K.K. Shibu says that the mission became a success because of the enthusiastic support extended by Kudumbasree units, school students, voluntary organisations and libraries.
“Households too have taken enthusiastically to the project and have planted around 7,000 saplings so far,” Mr. Shibu says. Karukutty Naipunya Public School Principal Fr. Benny Maramparampil is happy that the eco-club members of his school are contributing their mite to greening the panchayat, a dry region for several years.
Adopting trees
Anupriya Babu, a student of Class X and an active eco-club member, is all pride as she points out that the students have adopted the newly planted trees on the campus. “We students bring manure from our homes and tend each sapling well,” she says. Jacob Paulson, another nature lover in the school, puts the number of saplings planted on the campus at 120.
Students have not stopped there, says Lailamma Zacharia, headmistress of the Government Upper Primary School, Pallissery, who points out that the students of her school have also begun raising a vegetable garden besides planting the tree saplings.
With the panchayat offering all support, the school has plans to launch many more environment protection programmes in the new academic year, she says.
Source: The Hindu, 30th June 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment