Video: Green tribute to KCR: 10,000 mangrove saplings planted in Sundarbans on his birthday

On the 72nd birthday of BRS chief and former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, a large-scale plantation drive was organised in the Sundarbans delta. Led by former Rajya Sabha MP J Santosh Kumar under the Green India Challenge, 10,000 mangrove saplings were planted to strengthen coastal resilience and biodiversity.

Hyderabad: Marking the 72nd birthday of BRS chief and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, a large-scale environmental campaign was launched with the planting of 10,000 mangrove saplings in the Sundarbans delta.

The plantation drive was led by former Rajya Sabha member J Santosh Kumar as part of efforts to promote environmental awareness and sustainability under the Green India Challenge.

Youth, students and local volunteers participated in the programme, planting saplings across vulnerable stretches of the mangrove forests.

Spread across nearly 10,000 square kilometres in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta, the Sundarbans play a critical role in protecting coastlines, reducing the impact of cyclones and preserving biodiversity. However, successive cyclones such as Aila, Amphan, Yaas and Sitrang, along with saltwater intrusion and erratic rainfall, have placed the fragile ecosystem under severe stress.

Santosh Kumar said the initiative was inspired by Chandrashekhar Rao’s emphasis on environmental protection during his tenure. As the first Chief Minister of Telangana, he launched flagship programmes such as Haritha Haram aimed at increasing forest cover, restoring groundwater and strengthening climate resilience. The Green India Challenge, initiated by Santosh Kumar in 2018, further expanded plantation activities beyond Telangana, mobilising youth, public representatives and civil society groups across the country.

The former MP stated that crores of saplings were planted under these initiatives, and thousands of water bodies were revived. He described the Sundarbans plantation drive as a continuation of that green mission and a symbolic tribute to Chandrashekhar Rao’s environmental vision on his birthday.