6.5 L of 9.19 L Saplings Planted During Swarnim Gujarat Have Died

Ahmedabad:This is one green record nobody in the government wants to remember. Over 9.19 lakh tree saplings were planted across Ahmedabad on July 31, 2010 as part of Swarnim Gujarat celebrations. Chief Minister Narendra Modi had joined 25,000-odd volunteers to contribute to the green movement. Claims for the green glory were also made to the Guinness Book of World Records. Two years later, more than 6.5 lakh saplings have withered away. In some zones, the ground looks dry, flat and hardly betrays a sign that trees were ever planted there.