LG VK Saxena raises concern on low water table, urges people to plant saplings

New Delhi [India], June 20 : Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena raised concern on the lowering of the water table in the country, terming the situation "alarming" for everyone, and said that it shows that we are not doing justice to 'Mother Earth.'
He also urged people to participate in the 'Ek Pedh Maa ke Naam' campaign and plant a sapling.
LG Saxena and Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav participated in the program for the plantation of saplings by officers and staff of the ministry.
Addressing the event, LG Saxena said, "For the past month, Delhi people and the entire country have been facing a scorching heat, compelled to bear it. The temperature in Delhi has reached as high as 52 degrees Celsius. The water table is decreasing day by day. This is alarming for all of us. This shows that we are not doing justice to Mother Earth."
"So, I appeal to everyone to be a part of this campaign (Ek Pedh Maa ke Naam) and plant a sapling. You don't have to end your campaign just by planting the sapling and clicking a photo with it. You have to take responsibility for that tree with the mindset that it would be your identity in the future, that when someone sits under its shade, they would thank you for it," he added.
He further mentioned that instead of keeping the plant saplings in black plastics, which affects the environment after use, now the saplings will be placed in small pots of cow dung.
"We do plant saplings but they come in a black plastic cover. After the plantation, they (black plastic) are thrown away in jungles and then they make their way to rivers and drains - choking them in the process. We have made an initiative towards this...Now, instead of plastic, small pots of cow dung would be made and saplings would be placed in them. Then those saplings would be planted," the Delhi LG added.