The initiative “Eco Amritsar 450”, is a five-year campaign that will be launched on June 27 on the occasion of Amritsar Foundation Day. The campaign will engage the SGPC, civil society, educational institutions, diaspora, religious and government bodies.
AMRITSAR: Washington-based organisation EcoSikh plans to grow 450 Guru Nanak sacred forests by planting that many saplings in Amritsar in the next five years to mark the city’s 450th anniversary that falls in 2027, a report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
The initiative “Eco Amritsar 450”, is a five-year campaign that will be launched on June 27 on the occasion of Amritsar Foundation Day. The campaign will engage the SGPC, civil society, educational institutions, diaspora, religious and government bodies.
Amritsar’s foundation stone was laid by Guru Ramdas in 1577. In recent years, the city’s air quality has considerably deteriorated.
Charan Singh, forest convener, EcoSikh, said in the last 38 months, they had planted over 400 saplings as a part of its target to plant 1 million trees celebrating the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
In a statement, EcoSikh said that in recent years, the city has suffered from degrading air quality and depleting groundwater resources. There is also a severe lack of systematic waste management and infrastructure to make it sustainable.
“Amritsar has over 1,00,000 visitors and pilgrims coming to the city on a daily basis and the impact can be seen in the surrounding environment, from the strain on water and food resources to the extra energy used and the additional waste and litter created. It is critical that we take measures to conserve natural resources and plant forests to stop the environmental degradation,” said Dr Rajwant Singh, global president of EcoSikh.
In a statement, EcoSikh said that in recent years, the city has suffered from degrading air quality and depleting groundwater resources. There is also a severe lack of systematic waste management and infrastructure to make it sustainable.
EcoSikh India president Supreet Kaur said the green cover of the Amritsar city has shrunk significantly in recent years and many trees have been cut in recent times without being replaced.
“Planting forests will also help the city to fight the devastating impact of climate change.” In the last 38 months, EcoSikh has planted over 400 forests as a part of its target to plant one million trees celebrating the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. It has also planted a few forests in Amritsar.
Trees planted using the Miyawaki technique in these forests are of native species and they attract biodiversity and are shown to improve the ecology of the area including lifting the water table, it said.
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