Palamau (Jharkhand), Aug. 12 : Kaushal Kishore Jaiswal of Palamau district of Jharkhand has devoted himself to the cause of expanding green cover in the region. He has made it a mission of his life to save trees and plant more and more trees here.

Palamau , a drought prone area in Jharkhand is also known as Black Shadow zone where, average rain is below normal-level.

Having taken up the plantation drive in 2001, Kaushal has planted around 1.1 million saplings in the region. He has set himself a target to plant over 300,000 saplings for
2008.

Kaushal Kishore Jaiswal tells that people’s response to his initiative has been quite supportive and encouraging. He says: “Whenever we go in villages, a large number of people surround us.”

“Wherever we have a camp, we make it a point to carry at least 10,000 to 15,000 saplings each time. I keep on telling the farmers that it is their fixed deposit since we are not having a government job and do not have the facility of having a pension after retirement. So, it is a noble way of warding off poverty and pollution at the same time,” says Jaiswal.

Kaushal Kishore’s efforts have motivated a lot of residents in Palamau district’s villages to contribute to the cause of greenery in the area.

Recently, Kaushal organized a camp to make people aware for conservation of environment in Palhe Village under Patan block of the district.

Thousands of tree saplings were distributed during the camp among residents of Palhe Village. Besides, Kaushal appealed to the villagers to grow and plant more trees.

People from different age groups attended the event and made it successful.

Madan Mohan Dubey, a villager, said: “This was very good and a much-needed thing in the village. People will have better environment and even their economic condition would benefit with the sale of fruits and vegetables from these trees.”

People, who were earlier ignorant of trees’ significance and the role they play in environment of any area, have now realized their importance.

Scores of people are now committed to preserve environment in the area and have taken up the cause of saving trees from felling.

Now, Jaiswal is hopeful that after committing themselves for the protection of trees and environment, the people of the place could probably expect a good rainfall and greenery, and the place will no longer be known as ''Black Shadow''. (ANI)