'Go Green Fortnight'
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 21 2013:
Aimed at promoting greenery, atleast in and around their deployment areas, and furthering its undeterred efforts of preserving the bounty of the nature, the Assam Rifles under a specific roadmap worked out by the IGAR (S) Maj Gen UK Gurung, would launch fortnight long 'Go Green Drive' in entire Manipur from May 24 onwards for which all AR Sectors and Battalions have been mobilised.
Cooperation and assistance from the Forest Department has also been solicited besides motivating the villagers, particularly the youth, for their active participation in making the entire process a great success, informed a PRO IGAR (S) release while highlighting that along with tree plantation, number of events including lectures on the benefits of afforestation for students, drawing and painting competitions based on Go Green theme and excursion trips for school children to nearby parks and gardens would be conducted.
The State of Manipur needs no introduction as regards its large forest cover, which according to the Forest Report 2003 conducted by Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, is 17,219 sq kms, nearly 77.12 percent of the State's total geographical area.
However, in the last decade or so, as in other parts of the country, the Manipur has also undergone a drastic decline in the same.
The endeavour undertaken by Assam Rifles is aimed at starting a legacy of sustainable environmental development for ourselves and for our future generations and in turn hoping that the Green Canopy of trees that still exists is not degraded further.