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NT Bureau
Chennai, Sept 24:
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in Chennai yesterday. Also seen are Sri Jaggi Vasudev and MP Kanimozhi |
Tamilnadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has called upon the people to realise the importance of green cover and work for planting saplings and maintaining trees.
Speaking at Isha Foundation’s ‘Isha Gramotsavam 2007’, here, yesterday, the Chief Minister said that if planting of trees was encouraged, it would provide for a good life to the people, especially future generations.
‘To have more rain, we need to have more trees since they are a major source of life’, he added.
Karunanidhi inaugurated a ‘Project Green hands’ to commemorate 25 years of the Isha Foundation by planting the first sapling to launch the 25 million tree- planting initiative of Isha Gramotsavam 2007.
He also expressed the hope that Chennai would have as much green cover as Delhi and Bangalore.
‘We put hoardings in place of trees — government, cinemas, political parties and advertisements, because of which we do not even know if there are trees in the city,’ Karunanidhi said.
He also said officials, advertisers who go to courts to get a stay on hoardings, and the courts which grant the stay should also think about it.
The Chief Minister pointed out that there are books which mention King Ashoka planting saplings along the roadsides. Even during the time of Kings and Emperors, planting of saplings was accorded top priority, he said.
Karunanidhi further said he always held in high esteem the religious leaders such as Kundrakudi Adigal and his successor for their service to Tamil. He respected Sri Jaggi Vasudev for his effort in planting of saplings.
He also preferred ascetics who strove for social uplift to those who focused only on religion. Later, he distributed prizes to winners of rural sports contests.
Central Bureau of Investigation
former director D R Karthikeyan, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi, musician Sudha
Raghunathan also spoke on the occasion.