Bhubaneswar: Odisha on Tuesday surpassed its target of planting 75 lakh saplings under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 2.0’ initiative, marking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 75th birthday on Wednesday.
Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi with NCC cadets during sapling plantation in Bhubaneswar. (PTI)
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The state planted over 1.04 crore saplings across 30 districts and 30,025 sites, an official said, adding that the target of planting 75 lakh saplings was crossed before 2 pm on Wednesday.
Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who joined a plantation programme at a Bhubaneswar college along with other senior ministers, called the effort a “people’s movement.”
“This reflects our commitment to honour Mother Earth and ensure a greener future for Odisha on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of PM Narendra Modi,” he said.
The plantation drive, part of the national initiative Seva Parv 2025 held from September 17 to October 2, mobilised government departments, volunteers, and local communities.
The agriculture department alone accounted for 23 lakh saplings, while the police launched parallel drives in districts under director general of police (DGP) Y B Khurania.
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“Saplings must grow into trees. Our focus is also on industrial belts like Jharsuguda, Talcher, and Kalinga Nagar, and in drought-prone regions,” forest and climate change minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia said.
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“Saplings must grow into trees. Our focus is also on industrial belts like Jharsuguda, Talcher, and Kalinga Nagar, and in drought-prone regions,” forest and climate change minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia said.
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The green campaign ran alongside other welfare initiatives. Health minister Mukesh Mahaling launched *Healthy Women, Empowered Families*, a state-wide programme to digitally track women’s health and conduct over 29,000 screening camps for cancer, malnutrition, and other issues, targeting 2 crore women.
Deputy CM Pravati Parida led celebrations of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s Subhadra Yojana, while Awas Diwas was marked with housing fairs across districts to promote the completion of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) homes and schemes like PM Suryaghar.
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.
