Drive To Raise 1 Lakh Saplings
Siruthuli office-bearers and prison officials sowing the seeds in the mother bed at the Coimbatore Central Prison on Friday. The office-bearers of Siruthuli (a public initiative for environment), along with the prison officials on Friday inaugurated a drive to raise one lakh saplings using the services of the prisoners.
The drive was formally kick-off by sowing the seeds in the mother bed. Deputy Inspector-General of Prisons, S.K. Narayanamoorthy, Superintendent of Central Prison, P. Govindarajan, Chairman of Siruthuli, S.V. Balasubramanian, Managing Trustee, Vanitha Mohan, Trustees R.V. Ramani, Kanaklal Abhaichand and D. Srinivasan took part in the programme.
Siruthuli commenced its “Pasumai Payanam” for enhancing green cover by planting saplings in August 25, 2005 and it was planned to plant 1.5 million saplings. So far Siruthuli had planted over 2 lakh saplings. The prison inmates have come forward to labour free of cost during leisure hours to raise the saplings. Siruthuli will be providing seeds of teak, pencil tree, pungan, poovarasu, cassia fistula (sarakondrai), neermathi, neermaruthu, kumizh, iyal vaagai, thoongu vagai and mahagoni. Siruthuli will be providing the seeds for sowing them in the mother bed, farm inputs such as bags, red soil and manure.
The afforestation drive at the central prison will be a long term drive. Initially, the prisoners will be contributing their labour free of cost to raise one lakh saplings and every jail inmate will be raising 100 saplings during their leisure time. Siruthuli has planned to support the prison department for natural farming activities in open jail premises at Ondipudur.
