Let us all together make the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam Abhiyan” a success

 Dr. Mohan Yadav

Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign by planting a tree in the Buddha Jayanti Park on June 5, on the auspicious occasion of World Environment Day. In the 111th episode of his popular program “Mann Ki Baat”, he highlighted the importance of this campaign and made a heartfelt appeal to every citizen of the country to plant at least one tree as a mark of respect for their mother. That heartfelt appeal of the Prime Minister touched the hearts of the countrymen and there was a competition among the people in different parts of the country to plant trees as an expression of their respect for their mother. Within a month, crores of trees have been planted across the country and this campaign is moving rapidly towards the target of planting 140 crore trees. Every Indian is eager to ensure their participation in this campaign with unprecedented enthusiasm. I consider this campaign dedicated to the protection and prosperity of the environment as a unique achievement of the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and congratulate him on behalf of the people of Madhya Pradesh. There is no doubt that the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign will be able to increase the amount of oxygen, reduce the temperature of the earth, raise the groundwater level and make a significant contribution in pollution control.

I am happy that a target has been set to plant 20 lakh saplings in Bhopal district within a fortnight from July 6, the auspicious date of birth anniversary of the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (presently Bharatiya Janata Party) and great patriot late Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. On July 6 alone, the target is to plant 12 lakh saplings at various places in Bhopal district. On July 6, Bhopal Municipal Corporation has invited MPs, MLAs and public representatives to plant saplings at 300 places. A target has been set to plant 20 lakh saplings in 480 hectares of area in Bhopal. Similarly, the program to plant 51 lakh saplings in the industrial capital of the state, Indore, has been finalized. The “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign is being run on a war footing from July 1 to July 15. All the necessary preparations have been finalized to make this fortnight-long campaign a success. I am confident that Madhya Pradesh will be able to achieve its target within a fortnight with the participation of the people under the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign. We are certainly moving fast towards setting a unique record in the entire country. The enthusiasm that has arisen among the people of every city, village and town of the state to join this campaign is not only a reflection of their deep respect and reverence for the mother, but it is also an expression of their faith and love for Prime Minister Modi. The Madhya Pradesh government is determined to live up to the Prime Minister’s trust that like other important schemes and campaigns of the Central Government, Madhya Pradesh’s contribution will also prove to be important in the success of the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign. It is noteworthy here that Madhya Pradesh had set a record of planting the maximum number of saplings in a day in the country in 2017 during the tenure of the BJP government. Then 15 lakh volunteers planted more than 6.6 crore saplings in 12 hours across the state. In that unforgettable campaign of the then BJP government, 20 different species of saplings were planted on the banks of the holy river Narmada, the lifeline of the state. I am confident that with the participation of every person, Madhya Pradesh will be successful in creating a new history in the field of environmental protection by contributing to the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign.

I believe that the Honorable Prime Minister Modi Ji deserves a lot of praise for the praiseworthy initiative he has taken to link this pious campaign of environmental protection with mother worship by giving it the form of “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam”. The dedication and reverence that Prime Minister Modi has towards his mother is a matter of inspiration for all of us. One implication of this campaign is that we all grow up in the lap of nature. Therefore, by joining this campaign, we can get the satisfaction of fulfilling our duty towards nature. I heartily appeal to the people of the state to come forward and cooperate wholeheartedly to make this noble campaign a success. This noble campaign started on the initiative of the illustrious Prime Minister will be able to make a significant contribution to the international efforts being made towards the conservation of the environment.