Hyderabad: On the occasion of Forest Martyrs’ Remembrance Day, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao stressed the importance of forests, the environment, and greenery, and called for collective action to achieve a green Telangana.
“We cannot imagine a society without forests, environment, and greenery,” CM KCR said. “That is why we prepared plans for a balanced environment in the early days of Telangana.”
The Haritaharam program, launched in 2015, has seen Telangana plant over 250 crore saplings, transforming the state’s landscape.
“Hyderabad has won the World Green City Award-2022 given by the International Horticulture Producers Association due to the unexpected increase in greenery even in a concrete city like Hyderabad,” CM KCR said.
However, the state is also facing challenges posed by global warming, which is causing more extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods.
“We are seeing global warming as a result of not taking adequate protective measures in terms of the environment,” CM KCR said. “That is why we all have the responsibility to protect the right to live on this planet along with us and the future generations as well.”
He commended the efforts of the Forest Department in protecting the state’s forests and wildlife.
CM KCR also paid a heartfelt tribute to the 22 officers and staff members who lost their lives in the line of duty while working for forest protection.
“Their dedication is an inspiration to all of us,” CM KCR said. “In order to keep their aspirations alive, we have to implement the slogan of ‘Jungle Bachao-Jungle Badao’ (Save the Forest-Expand the Forest) implemented by the government with sincerity.”
He suggested that everyone in the society should take a pledge in that direction.”Let us all work together to achieve our target greenness of 33 per cent for a green Telangana,” CM KCR said. (INN)