East UP districts to launch plantation drive along river banks

Days after the Sultanpur administration held a massive plantation drive on the banks of Gomti, around 10 other districts of eastern UP have mooted a similar initiative along the banks of Ganga and Gomti by August-end.

We have long banks of Ganga that could be ideal place for the plantation drive. I have asked forest department officials to prepare a plan for a drive that could be organised by August-end or mid-September,” said Bhawani Singh, district magistrate of Ballia.

Such plans are also being made in other districts including Ghazipur, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Jaunpur and Amethi.

Officials in Ghazipur are planning the drive in two parts. They will cover a 10-km stretch of the river on both sides in each phase. In Mirzapur, the administration is planning to adopt the technique of seed bombs used by Sultanpur for the drive.

Seed bomb or seed ball refer to dried ball of two parts soil mixed with one part fertilizer that contains a dry seed. The ball protects the seed and helps it to germinate under favourable conditions.

In Sultanpur, the district administration had dropped 14 lakh seed bombs along the banks of Gomti on Wednesday.

UP environment minister Dara Singh Chauhan, who commended the drive in Sultanpur, said his ministry would extend all possible help to the districts to make the project successful.

“These plantation drives will give new life to our rivers and also help check soil erosion. All such efforts must be appreciated and supported,” said Chauhan.