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Green initiative: Atal Upvan to come up in Lucknow
The state capital will soon get an urban mini forest in the memory of former Prime Minister late Atal Behari Vajpayee on the outskirts in Raheemabad area near Bijnor.
The state capital will soon get an urban mini forest in the memory of former Prime Minister late Atal Behari Vajpayee on the outskirts in Raheemabad area near Bijnor. The forest named Atal Uday Upvan will be spread across five hectare wherein more than one lakh saplings will be planted in five phases.
On the first death anniversary of former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday, the HCL foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) for mass afforestation and water conservation initiatives.
“The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) is happy to partner with the HCL Foundation for afforestation and rejuvenation of water bodies. Conservation of the environment and the ecosystem in which we operate is of utmost importance to us and we believe that these steps are in the right direction towards our common objective,” said Sanyukta Bhatia, mayor of Lucknow.
The project will be a part of “Harit-the green spaces initiative” by HCL Foundation under HCL Uday programme. The key objective of this MoU is that HCL will engage in mass afforestation of native species and plant nearly 1,00,000 trees in phases and will also be responsible for their maintenance.
“We are committed to the conservation and restoration of the ecosystem. This MoU signed with the LMC is a step forward in our endeavour towards a greener city,” said Nidhi Pundhir, director, HCL foundation.
HCL will rejuvenate traditional water bodies in Lucknow and exchange state-of-the-art scientific and technical know-how with LMC and its implementing agencies that will aid the mass afforestation and water conservation interventions being taken up in the locality, Pundhir said.
The foundation will develop awareness and sensitisation activities about water conservation, rejuvenation of traditional water bodies, and mass afforestation towards water security.
A mass communication campaign for a larger citizens’ action on water conservation, restoration of traditional water bodies and intensive afforestation will be carried out to enhance the native biodiversity, she said.
“In other terms of the MoU, the foundation will be a technical partner for water conservation interventions in Lucknow. The responsibility of maintenance of intervention areas post the expiry of the MoU will be with LMC,” she said.
Pics by Deepak Gupta
