Marking World Environment Day, the ambitious ‘Amara’ plantation campaign was launched at the new DC office premises in Mangaluru on Thursday. Deputy Commissioner Anandh K, along with Zilla Panchayat CEO, inaugurated the initiative by plantation a sapling, kicking off a city-wide green movement.
Anandh K explained that the rainy season provides the perfect climate for afforestation and highlighted the pressing need to combat environmental degradation caused by unchecked natural resource exploitation. The ‘Amara’ campaign, led by Prof Smitha Hegde, is uniting several district organisations to identify and green appropriate public spaces.
Deputy Conservator of Forests, Anthony S Mariyappa, revealed that the Dakshina Kannada forest division plants around 5 lakh trees annually. This year, an additional 1 lakh saplings will be distributed for plantation through various groups. He stressed the importance of balancing development with ecology, noting that over 1.39 lakh trees were cut during the Mangaluru-Bengaluru road expansion project.
Prof Smitha Hegde, a leading force behind ‘Amara’, said the campaign aims to plant 10,000 trees by August, with 4,500 locations already identified. Notably, 350 trees will be planted at the DC office, and others will line the route from Baliga Stores to the airport road. The focus is on planting local fruit-bearing trees like jackfruit, mango, and breadfruit.
The launch was attended by senior officials including MCC Commissioner Ravichandra Nayak, Dr Arun Kumar Shetty, and environmentalist Jeeth Milan Roche.
Read also: