30,000 seeds of bamboo were planted on Government land in village Panesh near Ghanahatti on 25th July, 2021 by the members of Rotary Club Shimla, their families, members of Rotaract Club of Government Dental College, Shimla and the residents of Panesh, Shillaroo and Kali Hatti villages. Pradhans of 3 panchayats namely Galot, Kali Hatti and Shamlaghat were also present on the occasion. Bamboo plant has several advantages. It is one of the best sources of Oxygen among the plants. It works as a fence on the boundary. It is used by farmers as a support for the plants like tomato. It is also used for making furniture and fibre.
The club has procured 2.5 kg seeds. Another 1kg seeds will be available with them in a few days. It is pertinent to mention that each kg of seeds contains about 80 thousand seeds. The club made packets of 500 seeds each, so that these could conveniently be given to the farmers and the wastage could be minimized. The method of planting has also been printed on the packets for the information of the farmers.
Mr. K.K Khanna, President Rotary Club Shimla further informed that he was very happy to note that the villagers had agreed to sow seeds both in the forest area as also on their personal holdings. Rotary Club has decided to provide 100-500 seeds free of cost to the farmers for one family depending on land holding. The farmers have agreed to take care of the plantation on both the government land and their personal holdings. This will help in the maximization of the survival rate of the plants. With vision the Club gave about 1 lakh 70 thousand seeds to 3 Pradhans for distribution to the villagers in their panchayats.
About 10,000 seeds will also be planted near the Rotary Cancer Sarai Project of the club in Shimla in near future. About 70 thousand seeds will be planted in areas near Sunni. About 10 thousand seeds will be sown by the members of the Club on their personal holdings.
Rotary Club, Shimla has started an ambitious project to plant about 2.5 lakh trees in the rural areas of Shimla District. It will be made possible by the sowing of seeds of bamboo. It is important to note that bamboo trees do not produce seeds every year. This year bamboo has produced seeds after a period of 14 years. Bamboo seeds have to be planted either in a damp place or the land has to be irrigated, to provide sufficient water, during the initial period of about three months. The farmer has to dig a hole, about 3” deep. Then 2-3 seeds of bamboo have to be put in each hole and the hole is covered. In case it is apprehended that, animals may nibble on the young plants, then the area has to be covered with thorny bushes.
Rotary International is worlds’ largest NGO which is divided into 535 Rotary Districts and Rotary Club Shimla is part of District 3080. Every year, Rotary Club Shimla celebrates Van Mahotsav by planting a few hundred trees of Deodar or pines or ornamental plants. However, this year Rotarian Ajay Madan, District Governor, District 3080 has fixed a target of planting 15 lakh trees in the Rotary district comprising of revenue districts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttara Khand and Uttar Pradesh. In this view, Rotary Club Shimla has embarked upon this ambitious project. Mr. Ajay Madan has been instrumental in helping Rotary Club Shimla to procure bamboo seeds from Bangaluru.