Raipur, July 27 (IANS) The Chhattisgarh government said it had planted about 10 million saplings in Raipur district during a day-long ecology drive Sunday.
'Thousands of volunteers of various NGOs worked in tandem with the district administration to achieve the target of planting 10 million saplings in a single day in Raipur district,' district collector Sonmoni Borah told reporters.
Chief Minister Raman Singh flew in a helicopter to three different sites to plant saplings.
The drive aimed to convert Raipur district, spread over 13,445 sq km area, into a green zone began at 9 a.m. and ended at 4 p.m.
'Thousands of schoolchildren and officials from the level of village panchayat (council) to district collector besides Chief Minister Raman Singh and several ministers participated in the campaign,' Borah added.
Singh went to three different blocks, Abhanpur, Dharsiwa and Simga, in the district to plant saplings.
Addressing a gathering at Atari village in Dharsiwa block, Singh said sapling plantations at mass level in the state topped the agenda of the government.
He called upon people to help local authorities in developing a green belt in each of the state's 18 districts.
