The country celebrates Raksha Bandhan, the bond of brother and sister on Wednesday and Thursday. Nature lovers have other plans for this year. A group of women celebrated Vriksha Bandhan by offering pujas (rituals) to a 136-year-old banyan tree on the railway station road in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on Monday.
An NGO named, Green Climate, organised the event. The women who participated in the ceremony also tied Rakhi to the tree. While speaking to the media, the NGO founder and secretary JV Ratnam said that for the past 20 years, the NGO has been organising the event every year as a custom and the members including school and college students tie Rakhi to the oldest tree in the city, before Rakhi Purnima, to worship nature.
The representative of the City of Terrace Gardens (CTG), M Aishwarya said that the Bishnoi tribe of Rajasthan gives supreme importance to trees and wildlife. In 1730, the tribe, Amrita Devi Bishnoi had sacrificed her life by hugging a Khejri tree to prevent it from being cut down by the King’s men. Looking at her dedication, around 363 other villagers also sacrificed their lives to save the Khejri trees, she added.
Another CTG member, Sarita recalled the Chipko Movement which was started in 1973 and added that the movement led by Sunderlal Bahuguna is an example for all nature lovers. It is to be noted that the Chipko Movement started in Uttarakhand due to the deforestation by government contractors to make cricket bats, beds and other wooden equipment.
AVN College NSS unit programme officer Archana added that after eating fruit seeds, they should be dried and made into seed balls.
Botany lecturer Pushpa, who also participated in the event, added that oxygen in the atmosphere has decreased from 23.5 per cent to 21 per cent. If the oxygen dips below 19.5 per cent then the survival of humanity is questionable. She concluded by saying that it is the collective responsibility of every stakeholder to save trees.
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