J-K: 'Chinar gah' over 100 kanals in Ganderbal dist

The Jammu and Kashmir Forest Department on Tuesday established a "Chinar Gah" over an area of 100 kanals in Ganderbal district, planting 130 trees to mark 130 years of the department's existence.

Srinagar:The Jammu and Kashmir Forest Department on Tuesday established a "Chinar Gah" over an area of 100 kanals in Ganderbal district, planting 130 trees to mark 130 years of the department's existence.

"On the occasion of Chinar Day, the Forest Department has undertaken the establishment of a 'Chinar Gah' over an area of 100 kanals at Harran Ganderbal in central Kashmir," forest official Zahid Wani said. He said 130 chinar trees were planted to commemorate the completion of 130 years of existence of the J-K Forest Department. Meanwhile, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole, inaugurated a chinar plantation drive by planting saplings at the famous Mughal Garden in Nishat Bagh here.

Pole highlighted the importance of chinar as a heritage tree and termed it as the indicator of rich plant biodiversity with tremendous environmental benefits. The divisional commissioner instructed that as part of the "Azadi ka Amrut Mohatsav", 75 chinar trees will be planted in Nishat Garden. Director (Floriculture) Farooq Ahmad Rather said the department is celebrating Chinar Day during which chinar saplings are being planted across the division.

The plantation drive will continue till the season of the plantation, he said. He said Nishat Bagh was selected for the drive as it has the second-highest number of chinar trees after Naseem Bagh. He added that 10,000 chinar plants will be planted across the districts this season. Last month, the iconic 'Char Chinar' (four Chinars) island in the middle of the Dal Lake in Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital was restored with the transplantation of grown-up trees.

Char Chinar, a small island in the famous Dal lake, draws its name from four trees, one each in the four corners. Two of the chinar trees died over time and were replaced by saplings but the experiment did not work then. The island, also known as Roppae Lank in Kashmiri, is believed to have been constructed by Murad Baksh, brother of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

PTI