Kovind visits ashram near Hyderabad, plants sapling

Hyderabad  :  President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday visited Kanha Shantivanam Ashram, the global headquarters of Heartfulness Institute, near here and planted a sapling there.

Daaji, the global guide of Heartfulness Institute, and E.S.L. Narasimhan, Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, were present.

Kovind, on a southern sojourn during which he is staying at Rashtrapati Nilayam at Bollarum here, reached the institute near Cheguru village in Ranga Reddy district by helicopter.

The plantation of the 100,000th sapling by the Governor marks a major milestone in the ongoing 'Green Kanha' initiative of the Heartfulness Institute to enrich the environment and lessen destruction caused by human activities and achieving the aim of planting and nurturing 250,000 trees, the institute said in a statement.

The 'Green Kanha' initiative emphasises the need to grow ecologically, economically and socio-culturally important native tree species. 

Kanha Shantivanam is also an ex-situ conservation centre, where rare and threatened plant species are being collected from across India.

More than 300 mature trees earmarked for felling because of different road works have been transplanted in Kanha Shantivanam. Another 100 coconut trees marked for felling in Tamil Nadu have also been transplanted there, it added.