Guwahati: Surrounded by cloud, lies Langkyrdem village in Meghalaya which receives heaviest rainfall in the world, next to Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram villages. Besides the breath-taking beauty, the hamlet has one more reason to be proud of as this village is one of the oldest and the biggest among all villages falling under Hima Khyrim (Kingdom of Khyrim).
The Shillong–Tamabil National Highway (NH-40) runs along this village. Situated on a hilltop, it is surrounded by hills, dales and valleys and is about 50 KM from Shillong. This is the place where Meghalaya government on Wednesday launched One Citizen One Tree campaign on the occasion of World Environment Day.
With the state losing its forest cover rapidly, the campaign aims at people’s involvement in planting more trees. All districts in the state are covered in the mass plantation drive wherein all indigenous plants raised by the community across the state are provided to citizens who want to participate in the campaign.
All the C&RD Blocks (46 blocks) took part in the campaign with a target of 10 villages per block. Each village will plant 1,000 trees bringing it to a total of 4,60,000 trees. The campaign mobilises 20 villages each from both catchment areas.
Talking to news18, chief minister Conrad Sangma said that the whole idea of One Citizen One Tree campaign is to encourage citizens not just to plant a tree but also commit to take care of it.
“It is a community based programme. World environment Day should not conclude in one day, but activities should continue throughout the year,” said CM Sangma.
A social media campaign centred around Meghalaya’s One Citizen One Tree has been launched wherein citizens can register to participate in the mass plantation targeting 1.5 million trees by clicking on the registration form provided on social media platforms.