Goemkarponn Desk
CANACONA: A days after villagers carried slogans against any developmental works on Bhagwati plateau during BMC organized Vanmahotsav on Sunday, over 200 students and teachers of a village school planted over 100 saplings on Monday.
As a part of Vanmahotsav celebration around 100 saplings of wild trees were planted at the Bhagawati plateau by students and teachers of Shri Nirankar Vidyalaya, Maxem on Monday.
Around 223 students and 12 staff members participated in this event. Saplings of Zhambal, Kokum, Chinch, Taman, Baia, Peru and others were the variety of saplings that were planted around Bhagwati temple.
Manoj Prabhugaokar President of Biodiversity Management Committee of Loliem village and Deepak Lolayekar also took part in the plantation drive.
BMC president Manoj Prabhugaonkar has stated that following government’s unsuccessful attempts to allotte the plateau (Bhagwati plateau) to set-up IIT-Goa permanent Campus in 2016, villagers have been planting various types of saplings to keep the plateau green and eco-friendly.
BMC had also demanded with the government to handover the eco-sensitive and rich in heritage Bhagwati plateau to the village biodiversity committee assuring to make it a hot-spot and center of village Biodiversity.
Now, various institutions holding their annual vanmahotsav or plantation drives on the plateau assumes significance, particularly after a random visit by a Minister (Social Welfare minister Subhash Phaldessai) on the plateau informed government is exploring the vacant and idle land including the Bhagwati plateau for developmental activities that could include an IIT campus, Film City or even Hinterland Tourism Project.-
