BENGALURU: In the drought-hit areas of Bagepalli, SayTrees has planted 35,000 saplings. The plantations are hoped to not only increase the green cover of the region, but also improve the condition of the area that is reeling under drought. The drive was supported by the CSR initiative of L&T
Infotech and comes after a similar, successful drive last year, when 60,000 saplings were planted.
“Forests are very important for our eco-system, but are being reduced at an alarming rate. An estimated 18 million acres (7.3 million hectares) of forest, which is roughly the size of the country of Panama, are lost each year, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO),” said Mr Kapil
Sharma, founder, SayTrees Environmental Trust.
He said that volunteers from Bengaluru participated in the drive. The state has 80% arid land and is next only to Rajasthan. “We need many more forests in the state and SayTrees is trying to achieve it with the support of our corporate partners,” he said.
Saplings are also being planted in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The volunteers interacted with villagers and SayTrees is also exploring afforestation of flood-hit regions of Karnataka and Kerala.
“It is very important to bring back the green cover to restore ecological balance, else such events will occur more frequently in future. We have plans of restoring ecology back in the flood-hit areas of both states,” he said.
