Guwahati: Thousands of school campuses across Assam are turning into plantation zones this week as the state rolls out the ‘Brikshya Bandhu’ initiative, bringing more than 22 lakh students into a massive four-day tree-planting campaign.
The programme was formally launched at the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati on Tuesday in the presence of Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, Environment and Forest Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah and several legislators.
As part of the initiative, students studying in Class VI and above will plant more than 1.5 crore saplings across Assam between August 11 and 14. The campaign is being implemented under the state’s Amrit Brikshya Andolan and involves 11,277 educational institutions.
According to the programme details, more than 21.28 lakh students have already registered for the plantation drive. The Forest Department has made arrangements for the distribution of around 1.57 crore saplings to participating institutions.
The initiative goes beyond simply planting trees, with a digital monitoring mechanism introduced to track their survival. Students will upload geo-tagged photographs of the saplings through the Amrit Brikshya Andolan portal after planting them. They will then submit another photograph after six months to document the trees’ progress.
Students who complete the monitoring process will be awarded online ‘Brikshya Bandhu’ certificates.
The organisers have stressed that the campaign is intended to create long-term environmental responsibility among students rather than remain limited to a single plantation event. Participants have been encouraged to regularly care for and protect the saplings they plant.
Education Minister Ranoj Pegu also called for public participation in making the initiative successful, highlighting the role of young people in responding to environmental challenges and climate change.
With students taking direct responsibility for planting and monitoring the trees, the ‘Brikshya Bandhu’ campaign seeks to combine environmental action with education and community participation, while creating a lasting green legacy across Assam.
