Mangaluru (TOI): The land of Lord Krishna, Udupi, will be as green as Vrindavan of Mathura in the next two years.
This greening Vriksha Raksha- Vishwa Raksha'' is the dream of Pejavar Mutt junior seer Vishwaprasanna Thirtha. This aspiration of making the district green received a boost with his guru and the senior Seer Vishwesha Thirtha supporting the cause by announcing that it would be taken up as a campaign during his two year Paryaya term.
Now, preparations are going on war footing to achieve this dream of planting one crore saplings in the district in two years' time.
Prof AP Bhat, head, Department of Physics, Poornaprajna College, Udupi, also a member of the campaign committee, said: The junior seer's objective is to save old trees and grow more trees. The rampant urbanisation and the recent road widening by National Highways Authority of India have left roadsides almost barren. It is difficult to see trees which are over 100 years old now.
Last year, when the seer started that campaign the objective was to identify old trees in villages and mark them. Though the campaign received wide publicity, response was poor. This prompted junior Seer to approach the senior seer to give a boost to this campaign during the Paryaya term.
He said renowned botanist Dr Gopalakrishna Bhat, who specialises in Taxonomy of Sedges, Grasses, Zingiberaceae and Palms and Floristic studies, has identified 144 species indigenous to this region which are hardy and Dr T Shridhara Bairy, head of Department of Dravyaguna, SDM College of Ayurveda and Hospital, Udupi, has identified more than 120 saplings of medicinal value. These will be procured and supplied to those who require them through the Forest Department.
Prof Bhat said regular meetings and interactions will be held with the beneficiaries regarding the safeguard of saplings. In this connection there will be a conference in March month this year. There we will get a definite idea of the requirements and doubts. We will distribute according to the need of the beneficiary - whether it's a home, institution, temple etc.,'' he added.
Quote: Saplings will be made available at the Mutt on demand by devotees. We need to protect our environment and also give more emphasis on keeping our premises clean. Hence, we have decided to launch Vriksha Daan scheme. Devotees may collect saplings from the Mutt and plant it in their property. - Paryaya seer Vishwesha Thirtha.
