Gaya, September 27: Dileep Kumar Sikandar, a 54-year-old man from Bihar, has planted around one lakh saplings at Brahmyoni hill in Gaya since 1982. He named planted by him after freedom fighters and martyrs. Speaking to news agency ANI, Sikandar said, "I've been doing this since 1982. Every day, I come here to plant new saplings & tend to the trees. I've named the trees after freedom fighters and martyrs." Amit Shah to Participate in Tree Plantation Drive of CAPFs in Gurgaon on July 12.

The 54-year-old man added that during his childhood days, he used to come there for picnic. Sikandar stated, "One day, I asked my father why the hill had no trees. He quoted a proverb to say that hills were without trees in Gaya. Then, I decided to turn it green."

He said that during Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi's visit to the area, he had demanded to declare the hill as forest area, but nothing happened. Sikandar also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to focus on environment protection. On Martyrs’ Day DPIFF Successfully Commenced Their Tree Plantation Drive as a Part of Their Go Green CSR Initiative Supported by MP Group.

Tweets by ANI:

Notably, in 2006, Bihar initiated a massive plantation drive. Since 2006, the state's green cover has increased to 15 percent, said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on the occasion of World Environment Day. Kumar also declared to plant as many as 2.5 crore saplings on the occasion of Bihar Earth Day on August 9.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 27, 2020 11:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).