India News | Uttarakhand CM Dhami Plants Trees to Mark Harela Festival

Dehradun, Jul 16 (PTI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday planted saplings to mark 'Harela', a nature conservation festival celebrated with great fervour in the state, and requested people to present him with saplings to plant on the occasion instead of bouquets.

'Harela' is a symbol of prosperity, tradition and greenery whose conservation is our collective responsibility, Dhami said after planting a sapling at the MDDA park near the Sahastradhara helipad.

"For maintenance and further expansion of the state's green cover, tree plantation needs to break out of the confines of government programmes and become a movement of the masses," the chief minister said.

He also asked people not to just plant trees but also pay attention to their conservation.

Dhami asked people to present him with a sapling to plant instead of a bouquet on the occasion.

"Our ancestors took many commendable steps for the conservation of nature. If we want to hand an Uttarakhand full of greenery and vegetation to the coming generations, we will have to work consistently in that direction," he said.

The chief minister also underlined the necessity of reviving the drying water resources of the state.

Forest and Environment Minister Harak Singh Rawat said the state government was working towards both development and ecological balance.

Earlier, accompanied by cabinet minister Dhan Singh Rawat, Dhami also planted a sapling at the SDRF Battalion, Jolly Grant.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)