GUWAHATI, June 6 - Starting an year-long plantation drive, the Assam Chamber of Commerce (ACC) planted saplings at the Dr Bhupen Hazarika Samadhi Khetra at Jalukbari here on Sunday.
�The programme would continue throughout the year covering several parts of the State,� said the organising committee president, Arup Kumar Deka.
Meanwhile, the first battalion of the National Disaster Response Force also planted 1,500 tree saplings at different locations including Patgaon, Azara, Mirza (Palashbari), Chansari (Kamrup Rural), etc.
NDRF teams located in Agartala, and Lungverh, Aizawl, also joined in this campaign in their respective areas. More than 400 NDRF personnel and 100 members of the local community participated in the campaign in various places of the North East.
The District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Kamrup, in collaboration with the Legal Cell for Human Rights (LCHR), organised two legal awareness programmes to generate awareness on environmental degradation at Bakrapara and Thutiabazar.
A large number of villagers participated in the programmes.
Abinash Narzary and Hemanta Dahal, advocate, Legal Cell for Human Rights, attended the programme at Thutiabazar, while Shobha KP, Deputy Director of LCHR, advocate, Pampi Bharadwaj, advocate, and Mousumi Kalita attended the programme at Bakrapara as resource persons.
They spoke on various environmental issues and the legal provisions relating to the protection of environment. They explained the offences and penalties for the violation of any environmental laws.
Shobha KP highlighted the consequences of deforestation and tried to make the people aware of the effects of global warming and natural disasters caused due to human intervention. Narzary spoke on the need of natural resources for the next generation, Dahal spoke on the offences and penalties for violation of any environmental law, while Pampi Bharadwaj and Mousumi Kalita spoke on preventive measures for reducing environmental pollution.
The team also apprised the gathering of the social security schemes launched by the Centre and the State government and the benefits that they can derive from them.
�Bibian Stars�� an alumni association of B Borooah College, today brought out a bicycle rally from the Chandmari flyover to Rajabari at Panikhaiti to create mass awareness on the need to plant trees.
The rally, in which 20 members of the Greater Guwahati District Cycling Association also took part, was flagged off this morning by Kamrup (M) DC, Dr Angamuthu.
As many as 400 saplings were planted at Rajabari.
