Kohima, June 5 (PTI): Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Sunday appealed to people to live sustainably with nature by "choosing cleaner and greener lifestyles" with his government taking a mega plantation drive across the state on the occasion of World Environment Day.
With this year's theme 'Only One Earth', he also said all citizens must realise that the earth is irreplaceable and all are part of its ecosystem.
"Let us live sustainably with nature by choosing cleaner & greener lifestyles. Happy World Environment Day," Rio said on Twitter.
In a major initiative, the planning and development board of Phek district planted around two lakh saplings to celebrate the day.
State Planning and Land Revenue Minister Neiba Kronu also joined the drive and urged people to take care of the planted trees for economic value.
He also stressed on the need to encourage villagers for undertaking large scale plantations of fruit trees in the district.
A youth organisation planted more than 10,000 saplings suitable for 104 Angami villages in three districts -- Chumoukedima, Dimapur and Kohima -- while another such body of Kohima village observed the day with the planting of 1,500 saplings.
In Tseminyu district, Sewanu village marked the day by conducting mass plantations of cherry, ashoka and bokal trees.
Churches across the state are also conducting tree-plantation drives on their complexes to create a green environment.
The Naga Students' Federation, an apex body of Nagas students in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland with headquarters in Kohima, also observed the day.
World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5 every year.
The NSF in the presence of its senior leaders, including cabinet ministers and legislators, conducted tree plantation drives in the Naga Solidarity Park in Kohima.
The ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party's Southern Angami-I Assembly Constituency unit organised a programme for plantations of 500 ornamental trees at the picturesque Naga heritage village Kisama. Local MLA and advisor for Technical Education Medo Yhokha was present there.