Bhubaneswar: In an attempt to restore green cover ravaged in Odisha by Cyclone Fani, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi on Sunday flagged off seedling distribution vehicles at Biju Patnaik Park here.
According to official sources, vehicles were rolled out simultaneously in Puri and Cuttack.
A total of 15 vehicles will move across 67 wards of Bhubaneswar and distribute saplings to denizens for free of cost. Similarly, five vehicles will be engaged for sapling distribution in Puri and another five in Cuttack. Each of the vehicles will carry 5,000 saplings, posters and leaflets to create awareness.
These vehicles will cover all wards and adjacent villages of the cities and continue to distribute seedlings for four days.
There are two types of species – forest and garden. Households can take the seedling of their choice. Each home can take 5 to 10 seedlings depending on availability of land and their ability to nurture the plants, the sources added.
The Chief Secretary also planted trees at the park on this occasion.
Principal Secretary Finance Ashok Kumar Meena, Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Sandeep Tripathy and Regional Chief HDFC Rajesh Shrivastava were present.
HDFC Bank has sponsored this four-day drive from its CRS fund.
