Bhubaneswar, Jul 26 (PTI) People in three coastal districts of Odisha on Friday planted mangroves to regenerate denuded coastal forest cover.
On the occasion of International Day for Conservation of Mangrove Ecosystem, efforts involving mangrove plantations in cyclone-vulnerable areas of Odisha are being stepped up and awareness campaigns, especially for youths and school children, have been organised by the Reliance Foundation and its partnering organisations.
Mangrove ecosystem provides not just livelihood security to coastal communities, but also ecological security along the coastline, officials said.
Around 55,000 mangrove plants were planted with Reliance Foundation’s support in vulnerable areas in Balasore, Jagatsinghpur and Ganjam districts in the last one year, a statement by the foundation said.
More than 50 residents of Kharasahapur village in Balasore district were involved in planting mangroves across a one-kilometre stretch of the coastline.
The foundation has facilitated knowledge transfer from scientific experts, sourcing mangrove plant material and guiding the community in management of plantation, it said.
“The 1999 Super Cyclone severely affected my village as the landfall was in our gram panchayat. Villages that had mangrove cover were then less affected. We are regenerating our mangrove cover with Reliance Foundation to mitigate cyclone impact,” said Sukhanto Kumar, a resident of Padmapur village in Jagatsinghpur district, who is a part of the mangrove efforts in his village. PTI CORR AAM RG RBT
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