A phone call will make your surroundings green

LUCKNOW - You are just a phone call away from turning your surroundings lush green, thanks to a helpline jointly launched by medical students, school children and scientists here for making Lucknow greener.

Under the banner of the Sky Foundation - an NGO working in the field of environment here, people from all walks of life have started the “On Call Plantation Scheme” (OCPS).

“Those interested to get saplings planted at their doors or in their vicinity, just need to call 9452415725 or 9616511633, and within 24 hours the green job would be done,” Pradeep Kumar Srivastava, senior assistant director of the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), who is also involved with the OCPS, told IANS Monday.

“Though under the aegis of Sky Foundation, we have been taking up environmental issues for the last several months, we decided to offer the OCPS facility from this month to widen our reach… Now people from various localities and colonies approach us for planting saplings and get associated with us,” he added.

Since the start of this month, around 50 saplings have been planted on calls made by residents of different localities of the city.

“All those associated with the plantation scheme are also involved in its promotion. They tell their relatives, friends, neighbours, who then get to know about our joint initiative and call us for carrying out the plantation,” said Srivastava.

The Sky Foundation is not charging any fee for the sapling plantation now, but its members feel that with an increase in the demand of saplings they might have to opt for a price tag for the saplings.

“Let’s see what happen in future… As far as possible we will try to continue OCPS free-of-cost… But at the same time, you should also keep it in mind that the saplings under the OCPS are being managed by us,” said Bhupendra Singh, an MBBS student enrolled with the Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSMMU), who is also involved with OCPS.

“But I feel that taking into account the ill-effects of pollution, climate change, residents of Lucknow will continue to call us and would not mind spending a meagre amount of Rs.10-15 to get a sapling planted,” he added.