Forest officials hold green drive in RR

Rangareddy: As part of the clean and green drive programme – a State government's ambitious initiative, the Forest Department picked up the initiative and organised a plantation drive at Malkapur village in Shamshabadmandal under Rajendranagar constituency.

It goes without saying that many of the mandals in Rangareddy district are still lagging behind in receiving good rains so far this year.

According to official statistics secured by Hans India, a total of six out of 27 mandals in Rangareddy district are tagged as ‘areas with deficit rainfall.’ Mandals like Shamshabad, Gandipet, Rajendranagar, Balapur, Ibrahimpatnam, and Yacharam are the worst-affected areas in terms of receiving showers this monsoon season.

While 17 mandals have received normal rainfall so far, only four mandals have seen excess showers this season. As per the official statistics, the cumulative rainfall as of Wednesday stood at 259.5 mm with a -5.3 per cent variation as against the 721.9 mm rainfall recorded last year during the same period.

Collector K Shashanka, accompanied by MLA of Rajendranagar Prakash Goud, took part in the programme and went around the room enthusiastically to enquire about the saplings planted and nurtured by the Forest Department. The collector even offers water to some of the saplings planted at the site. The collector was fascinated when he came across various aromatic saplings used to prepare perfumes and medicines alike.

The Collector said, “Plants are considered the basis for the survival of crores of humans and other living things on the globe, and everyone has a responsibility to protect the environment. Trees help attract timely rains and purify the air quality, which is again essential for humans to breathe and live a healthy life. So, everyone should come forward to protect the plants with a sense of responsibility.”