Uttar Pradesh Citizens Plant 50 Million Trees In A Day, Almost Break Guinness World Record

As popular media observes a Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian fight over a snapchat video, states in India are continuing to revolutionise the world with their ecological practices. Throughout the month of July, our government has surprised us each time by initiating plantation drives across states, on the occasion of Forest Day. Looks like the spirit of the day has channelled right through Maharashtra and Telangana into the state of Uttar Pradesh. Where on one hand, about 85,000 Telangana citizens joined a mass plantation drive earlier this month, Maharashtra planted about 3 crore saplings across the state.

Although, as per the report issued by ABC news, Uttar Pradesh has nurtured the same spirit in an exceptional way by trying to beat a Guinness World Record with planting 50 Million trees within a day. We are well aware of how they broke the record last year as well, but the government’s remarkable determination has made them achieve a well-deserved respect from the rest of the country.
More than 8,00,000 people, which included students, government officials, housewives, businessmen and volunteers from NGOs, walked out of their houses to plant saplings along country roads, highways, rail tracks and forest lands.
“The world has realized that serious efforts are needed to reduce carbon emissions to mitigate the effects of global climate change. Uttar Pradesh has made a beginning in this regard,” said UP’s Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav while addressing the volunteers in the city of Kannauj. According to Yadav, his motto to have this kind of drive was to address the need for afforestation and environmental conservation in today’s depleting world.

Along with other G7 leaders, India agreed at the Paris Climate Change Conference to increase forest cover to 95 million hectares (235 million acres) by 2030. With the exceptional progression of ecological conversation in our country only in a months time, it seems like, not only are we progressing to meet this goal, but also towards a more sustainable and greener future.

Feature image courtesy of iitg.ernet.in

 Words: Karan Kaul