Bhubaneswar: Responding to the appeal of Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi to plant 75 lakh saplings across the state, Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) joined the nationwide campaign ‘Ek Ped Maa ke Naam 2.0’ and planted 1 lakh trees across 27 locations in its mines and periphery regions in Keonjhar, Jajpur, Koraput and Rayagada districts.
The drive was inaugurated by OMC Managing Director Sudhansu Mohan Samal, who planted a sapling at OMC’s Drill Core Library in Bhubaneswar. The mass plantation was organised on the occasion of the 75th birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advance his vision of Mission LiFE.
While Executive Director (Forest & Environment) Sudhanshu Sekhar Khora, Director (Operations) Sabyasachi Mohanty; Director (HR) Alok Kumar Pal, Director (Finance) Bana Bihari Pani, senior officials and employees took part in the plantation drive in Bhubaneswar, regional managers, employees and local communities participated with enthusiasm in the mining regions.
As part of Odisha’s state-wide target, OMC contributed with the plantation of 1 lakh saplings, covering 60.074 hectares and 2.9 RKM across its mines and peripheral areas. Saplings of 30 Indian species including neem, sal, mango, Ashok, star fruit, jackfruit and Indian gooseberry among others were planted.
The Mohan Majhi government had mobilised all line departments, including educational institutes across the state to plant trees. The target of planting 75 lakh saplings on a single day was achieved by 1.33 pm on Wednesday. However, the drive saw over 1.49 crore crore saplings being planted across 30 districts and 30,025 sites by the end of the day.
“nearly 15 lakh students from 40,000 high and higher secondary schools, 1 lakh students from 1,000 colleges, 2 lakh teachers, 76,000 Anganwadi workers, 17,500 forest protection committees, environment development committees, 17,000 ASHA workers, 16,500 Mai Bharat volunteers, and 10,000 eco-clubs enthusiastically participated in the plantation drive,” the government informed in a statement.