PM's 71st birthday: Ahmedabad civic body plants 71k saplings to create 'Narendra Modi forest'

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation on Friday undertook a drive to plant 71,000 saplings to mark the 71st birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with participants including Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. The tree plantation, based on Japanese techniques to ensure they grow close to each other so that the plot resembles a forest, was carried out near Lal Bahadur Shastri Lake, officials said.

The plot is being called the Narendra Modi forest, they said, adding that the drive was part of the civic body's aim to plant one million trees this year.

"The trees will help increase the green cover in the city. We should plant as many trees as possible to reduce pollution," CM Patel said.