Residents of Mukhra (K) plant one lakh saplings under GIC

Sarpanch Gadge Meenakshi said that the villagers from all walks of life accepted the challenge and voluntarily took part in the initiative by planting 20,000 saplings in a 10 acre piece of land located in Brihit Palle Prakruthi Vanam.

Adilabad: Villagers of Mukhra (K) village in Ichoda mandal on Wednesday created a record of sorts by completing the plantation of one lakh saplings under the Green India Challenge initiated by Rajya Sabha member J Santosh Kumar.

Sarpanch Gadge Meenakshi said that the villagers from all walks of life accepted the challenge and voluntarily took part in the initiative by planting 20,000 saplings in a 10 acre piece of land located in Brihit Palle Prakruthi Vanam. They had planted 80,000 saplings as part of the challenge so far and were taking special care to protect them. She said the survival rate was 100 percent.

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Meenakshi said the open spaces and streets turned green with the help of the initiative. A model village in Telangana, Mukhra (K) had won the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Shashaktikaran Purashkar-2022, a national award for effectively implementing various schemes on April 10. Mukhra (K) was the only village to achieve the award in erstwhile Adilabad district.

Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had termed Mukhra (K) village in Echoda mandal as a role model to the country. He felicitated the village’s sarpanch Gadge Meenakshi by specially inviting her to his residence in New Delhi in March.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, while recollecting the success of many initiatives by the government, said that Mukhra (K) was one of the four villages that stood in the top position in excelling in many aspects.

With a population of 750, the village had also achieved the open defecation-free tag by constructing toilets in all households. Two dustbins were given to every family as part of sanitation measures and consumption of liquor was voluntarily prohibited. The villagers also resolved to send their children only to government-run schools. Local public representatives have also ensured 3-acre cultivatable land to all Dalit families of the village.