Around 10 lakh saplings to be planted in a year, Arushi Nishank will visit 15 states to promote the campaign; More than 300 students from various colleges participated
INVC NEWS
New Delhi,
On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti, renowned Kathak dancer, filmmaker, poetess, environmentalist, social worker and promoter of Namami Gange Project, Aarushi Nishank started a unique campaign — #Selfie with my Sparsh Tree– under which more than 10 lakh saplings would be planted in a year. To 
make this drive successful, Ms Nishank is bringing together youth, educational institutions and NGOs. The campaign was started from Yamuneshwar Ghat, Ramghat and Yamuna Bazar Ghat in in Delhi.
Union HRD Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Jal Shakti Minister Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and renowned singer Kailash Kher appreciated the efforts of Ms Nishank.
Around 300 students from various colleges participated in the campaign including students from various Delhi University colleges such as Motilal Nehru College, Shyam Lal College, Dayal Singh College (evening), Shaheed Bhagat Soingh College, College of Vocational Studies, Venkateshwara College, Zakir Hussain College, Zakir Hussain College (evening) and Ramanujam College. Mr U.P. Singh, Union water resources secretary, and Ms Rosy Agarwal, executive director (finance), Namami Gange, were also present on the occasion.
Under this campaign, ‘#Selfie with Sparsh Tree Campaign’ everyone will be encouraged to take a selfie by planting a tree or bringing it to their home and promote it on social media. The idea is to make the message reach maximum number of people and encourage as many people as possible to participate in this noble work. To make this work successful, Ms Nishank along with her team will visit 15 states including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana and many more.
Referring to this campaign, Ms Nishank said, “It is a great opportunity for us to start this campaign on the birth anniversary of Gandhiji and Lal Bahadur Shastriji. Trees are nature’s gift to us which has no alternate and they are our closest friends. The trees which we plant today will benefit not only us but many generations to come. The youth of the nation has to stand up and make efforts towards improving the environment. We hope that this time the youth will adopt a tree, take a selfie with it and take an oath to take care of that tree. Just one tree per person will make a huge difference. We should also make it a habit to gift plants on the occasions like Diwali, New Year, and Birthday.”
Aarushi is the promoter of the Central Government’s Namami Gange Project as well as, the National Convenor of Sparsh Ganga, a dedicated campaign for the promotion and cleanliness of the Himalayas and rivers. Aarushi is a disciple of well-known Kathak Guru Padam Vibhushan Birju Maharaj and is an artist of the Council of India Foreign Cultural Relations, Government of India. Apart from Kathak, Aarushi has been involved in environmental, women empowerment, and cleanliness & protection of the holy Ganges River and its tributaries, for the last 10 years.
