In the aftermath of
cyclone Amphan, a lot of
trees were uprooted at
the Tollygunge Club and also at Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) spread across 100 acres of land. So, to replenish the green cover at these two city clubs,
the Rotary Club of Calcutta Yuvis came forward and hosted a sapling
plantation project named Hariyali at both these clubs recently. The noble initiative was undertaken to enhance the green cover at the clubs, which has a very rich heritage of trees ageing more than 100 years.
Both Tolly Club and RCGC have specialists who selected the
saplings required with the help of their horticulturist. They specified the varieties of plants suitable to plant on the
golf courses, which not only would enhance the environment but also enrich their legacies. The drive will see more than 4,500 saplings being planted within August 15 to reverse the damage caused by cyclone Amphan.
District Governor Rotary International district 3291
Rtn Sudip Mukherjee along with Tolly president Dr Ronen Roy and CEO of RCGC Col Sammadar were present at the event. Apart from them, golf captains of Tolly Club and RCGC, Vivek Verma and Ashish Doshi respectively, helped making the project a successful one.
Nandini Chakravarty, chairperson of the environment committee at Tolly Club, said, “ I would like to thank Rotary Club for their commendable initiative to donate and distribute so many mature saplings to our club, which will help immensely in our tree planting programme. It was an amazing experience to have District Governor Rotary International, Sudip Mukherjee, to participate in the tree planting session. Also, thanks to our club member Vineet Saraf to make this initiative possible. This enormous effort to increase the green cover in the city and nearby villages by Rotary International will go a long way in helping to replace the lost trees.”
CEO of RCGC, Col, Samaddar also echoed similar thoughts. He said, "We at RCGC lost 80 trees during cyclone Amphan. We have undertaken Green RCGC programme not only to make up for the number of fallen trees but also to plant many more, keeping the golf course architecture in mind. Professional golfers associated with RCGC are supporting the strategy and advising us regarding the type of trees to be planted and their locations. Our aim is to plan the programme in such a way as to minimise the damage during future storms and cyclones.”