Students of various schools and colleges took out a tree procession.(Representational)
As many as 28,000 saplings were planted on Sunday on the banks of the Manjara river in Maharashtra's Latur district with students and others from 14 villages forming a human chain extending up to 10 km during the special drive.
The participants included a large number of college students, teachers, villagers, and state government officials.
The Manjara river, a tributary of the Godavari river, originates in the Beed district neighbouring Latur in the Marathwada region. The river flows from the northern boundaries of the Osmanabad district and cutting across the Latur district goes to the Bidar district in Karnataka and finally Telangana.
"Citizens have realized that planting the saplings is the need of the hour. Thousands of people joined the initiative today," said Latur collector Prithviraj BP.
The one-day tree plantation drive was launched by the Latur district administration on the banks of the Manjra river.
The collector, Latur Chief Executive Officer Abhinav Goyal and others planted saplings on the bank of the river in Bhatkheda village. "Latur district is known for low rainfall in the country. The forest cover in the district is 0.6 per cent whereas ideally, it should be 33 per cent on average. Historically, the Latur district is known as a drought-prone area. Therefore, tree plantation is the need of the hour and it cannot be ignored," the collector added.
Students of various schools and colleges took out a "vriksha dindi" or a tree procession to create awareness and chanted slogans.
A college principal told PTI that the planting of saplings will help the Latur district get water for irrigation.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)