MONIKA THAKUR stands next to a Deodar tree on the wooded St Bede’s College campus in Shimla, absorbed in a mobile device. At 22, she could easily pass off as a student. But she’s not. She is a forest guard — and what she is busy with, is not a mobile phone but a GPS device.
Thakur is part of an ambitious project that aims to combat a menace that has ravaged the Himachal capital — the illegal felling of trees.
According to Forest Department officials, there are an estimated 4,00,000 trees within Shimla municipal limits. And until March 15, records show 2,81,780 trees had been accounted for. If the project sticks to schedule, officials say all the trees will be located on GPS by October.
This will provide real-time GPS data and a scientific record on the forest wealth of Shimla.
Read more of this encouraging report to save greenery published in The Indian Express...
