DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit planted a sapling at the Raj Bhawan on Monday to commemorate 25 years of Kargil Vijay Diwas marking India's victory over Pakistan in the 1999 war. Speaking on the sidelines of the function, Purohit, who is also the Administrator of Union Territory Chandigarh, said the campaign will also give a boost to the ongoing tree plantation campaign 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam'.

According to an official statement, the soil for planting trees was brought here by the Jammu Kashmir Study Centre's (JKSC) Chandigarh chapter, from the Bajrang post, the starting point of the Kargil War.

This was the place where Captain Saurabh Kalia and his soldiers from the Jat Regiment, while on patrol in May 1999, were captured by the Pakistani Army and attained martyrdom in a bid to take back the post, it said.

The 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 5 to mark the World Environment Day, under which about 140 crore trees will be planted across the country.

JKSC Chandigarh president Vivek Chauhan and secretary Simrit Kahlon were also present during the event at the Raj Bhawan here.

JKSC is a think-tank dedicated to Jammu and Kashmir research. It also spreads information about Jammu and Kashmir through lectures, workshops, study programmes, seminars and symposiums.

The Governor called on the residents to promote such activities which would help not only in preserving the environment, but also in creating awareness about the valour and supreme sacrifices made by the Indian armed forces.

This plantation drive was undertaken as a part of a series of activities which would be conducted in the coming two weeks to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Kargil War by the JKSC's Chandigarh

chapter.

The first in the series of events is the tree plantation drive which would be conducted in all the government schools and colleges in Chandigarh.

The war was declared over on July 26, 1999, after the Indian forces successfully pushed back the Pakistani forces which had stealthily occupied important heights in Ladakh.
(editor@dailyworld.in)