Van Mahotsav or Plantation Festival is celebrated in New Town in a very unique way. Organized by New Kolkata Development Authority or NKDA, 4 Corona warrior (survivor), who won the battle against the virus, planted the trees on the special occasion.
Speaking about the event, Mr. Debashish Sen, IAS, Chairman, NKDA, and Additional Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal said, “We keep track of the COVID Status in New Town in our COVID War Room regularly. This time we decided to make the event special by selecting four Corona Warriors, 2 males, and 2 females, we felicitated them and then they planted the saplings. The event was organized maintaining the mandatory guidelines“.
Meanwhile, to increase the green cover in New Town, NKDA is planting 10,000 trees in association with resident welfare associations and private players. The plantation will be completed by the end of August this year. The plantation drive was initiated as a move, post-cyclone Amphan which uprooted nearly 4000 trees in New Town and more than 12000 in Kolkata city only.
Speaking to News Sense, Mr. Debashish Sen said, “we are also using vacant plots in New Town after taking permission from owners, for plantation in order to stop the growth of weeds and stagnation of water, which also leads to several water borne diseases including dengue and malaria“.
NKDA is encouraging the residents of housing societies in New Town to plant more trees, inside their residential complex and adopt trees, which are situated near the complex and look after them. NKDA is also encouraging residents to post their plantation initiatives with photos on their Facebook page Greening New Town.
