Lucknow, Apr 8 (PTI) As part of a special green drive, the Uttar Pradesh government planted over 11,000 saplings at 781 religious sites in the last seven days.

The Forest Department carried out the 'Shakti Vatika Aastha Aevam Hariyali' campaign and planted 11,047 across all the districts of the state, according to an official statement released on Tuesday.

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The campaign, launched during Navratri by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, concluded on April 7.

CM Adityanath inaugurated the initiative by planting a Rudraksha sapling at Atal Residential School in Bareilly on April 1.

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"The highest number of plantations took place in the Gorakhpur division, where 1,159 saplings were planted at 44 locations," it stated.

"Shakti Vatikas were established within temple premises, ashrams, schools, and other spiritual or public spaces during the drive," said Deepak Kumar, additional principal chief conservator of forests.

"The initiative witnessed enthusiastic participation from women, public representatives, temple administrators and priests, villagers, school children, devotees, NGOs, and Nagar Panchayats.

"Many locations also undertook symbolic 'Tri-Shakti' plantation, with ‘neem' representing Maa Durga, ‘mango' for Maa Saraswati, and ‘kadamba' for Maa Parvati. In addition, saplings of medicinal, religious, and ecologically significant species such as Peepal, Banyan, Tulsi, Ashoka, Hibiscus, and Pomegranate were planted," he added.

He said that during the campaign, school students also adopted saplings and pledged to nurture them, adding a sense of personal responsibility and long-term commitment to environmental conservation.

(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)