On the occasion of the birthday of the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, cleaning of river banks and tree plantation will be done on a large scale.

On the occasion of the birthday of the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, cleaning of river banks and tree plantation will be done on a large scale.

Tourism, Culture and Cinematography Minister K Durgesh said environmental conservation is important for human existence. Emphasising the need to protect trees, he urged everyone to participate in the tree plantation programme and ensure tree plantation and care for them responsibly during the Van Mahotsav programme held at the Arts College campus on Friday. He said deforestation disturbs the balance of the environment and causes climate change. Therefore, he called upon the citizens to perform their duty to preserve nature. He said that on the occasion of Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan's birthday on September 2, we propose to organize cleaning of river banks and tree plantation on a large scale.

He said that we assure our support for social forestry development programmes. He stressed that planting and caring for trees today will provide the benefit of oxygen and fruits to future generations. District Collector P Prashanthi said that following the instructions of the State Government, District Van Mahotsav activities will be organised extensively. A 60-day plan has been prepared to plant trees at various places including schools, colleges, vacant government land, industries and roadsides. Measures will be taken to ensure the survival of each sapling. He acknowledged that the loss of trees contributes to the rise in temperature. Rajahmundry Rural MLA Gorantla Buchaiah Chowdhary encouraged everyone to plant at least one tree per household. District Forest Officer B Nagaraju announced a target of planting 1.5 million trees this year.