A milestone achieved in relocating 1k trees

Hyderabad: Heartfulness Institute located at Kanha Shantivanam in Hyderabad has successfully completed a milestone of translocating over 1,000 trees in just over a year, with the replantation of 120 coconut trees, aged around 15-year, from Karur District in Tamil Nadu. 

Sixty trees in the recent batch arrived at Kanha Shanti Vanamon recently and the team successfully replanted them within the Ram Chandra Mission premises in Kanha Shantivanam. With this, the institute achieves the rare distinction of having undertaken such a massive initiative of not just relocating but also nurturing the trees. Every year of the tree’s existence brings incremental benefits, by extending the longevity of the trees, the institute preserves these benefits for the planet, a press release said.

Speaking about the milestone achieved, Kamlesh Patel, the fourth Global Guide of Heartfulness said that trees are the single most important assets on this planet. Their role and usefulness are beyond measure and most often our understanding. Apart from preservation of the planet itself in the physical sense, trees also exude spiritual qualities that help preserve and retain divinity and create the required balance on a different level. 

“It is therefore important that the number of trees is increased, and more importantly existing trees are protected from being destroyed. One tree saved is equivalent to hundreds of them being planted,” he added. Relocation and replanting of mature trees is very complex, technical and often costly process. Trees are mostly displaced because of development, and need to be very delicately handled to ensure their survival. The soil around the tree for a four to five feet diameter width and depth is first dug, then the roots are delicately cut, and the tree is loaded for transportation along with a huge quantity of soil, the release added. 

Retention of the soil around the tree is critical, and utmost care is taken during transportation to ensure that the soil does not come loose and the roots are not damaged. At the destination, the trees are then gently placed into a large prepared pit along with the original soil, and then allowed to graduallyacclimatise, under intense observation and care– including addition of root promoters and water retainers (hydrogel) –until the pit is covered up. This process takes one to two months if a tree is successfully transplanted.