DK: Plan to plant 9.8 lakh saplings

Mangaluru: The Forest Department has aimed to plant 9.8 lakh saplings in a 950 hecatres of land in Dakshina Kannada district this year.

This time the planting will begin after the arrival of rains i.e. at the end of June and the saplings will be planted at 8 zones in the district. This work will be conducted for a period of a month. The project also includes planting of saplings on roadsides and will include around 60kms road in the district. The department has aimed to plant 300 saplings at a distance of 1km.

The planting of saplings along 60km limits of the district roads has been undertaken through Roadside Planting and Greening Urban Area scheme. Besides, they have decided to not to plant rain tree and Devadaru trees this time as these trees are prone to breaking during strong winds. For this reason, the department has thought of planting banyan trees in dry areas.

Distribution with discount prices

The Forest Department has planned to plant 9.8lakh saplings anyhow and around 3 lakh saplings out f the total will be provided to the public. The plants will be provided at discount prices and the remaining saplings will be planted by the department.

“This year around 9.8lakh saplings will be planted at 8 zones in the district by the forest department. The saplings will be planted in an area of 950 hectares in the district,” said Karikalan, DK Assistant Forest Conservator