Key Highlights
- Varanasi planted 251,446 saplings in exactly 60 minutes, eclipsing China’s 2018 record.
- The drive unfolded across roughly 350 bighas in Sujabad‑Domari, employing the Japanese Miyawaki technique.
- Six‑zero‑zero sectors, each named after iconic Kashi ghats, hosted uniform planting of over 4,000 saplings.
- More than 1,500 participants from the army, disaster‑relief forces, forest officials and student volunteers contributed.
- A 10.8‑km irrigation network with borewells and rain‑gun systems was installed to safeguard the seedlings.
Detailed Insights
The Varanasi Municipal Corporation, in partnership with several state agencies and civil‑society groups, orchestrated a synchronized plantation effort that set a new benchmark for urban afforestation. Verification was carried out by Guinness adjudicator Rishinath using aerial drones and a digital counting platform, and the achievement was formally recognized with a certificate presented to Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari and Municipal Commissioner Himanshu Nagpal.
The Sujabad‑Domari site was transformed into an urban forest using the Miyawaki method, which encourages rapid canopy development through high‑density planting of native species. Twenty‑seven indigenous trees and shrubs—including sheesham, arjun, teak, bamboo, mango, guava, papaya, ashwagandha, shatavari, and giloy—were distributed evenly across 60 demarcated sections, each bearing the name of a historic ghat such as Dashashwamedh or Manikarnika.
To ensure the long‑term vitality of the 2.51 lakh saplings, the project installed a 10.8‑kilometre pipeline linked to ten deep borewells and approximately 360 rain‑gun irrigation units. Officials anticipate that the forest will achieve a dense green cover within two to three years and generate municipal revenue through a public‑private partnership commencing in the third year.
Key Concepts
- Miyawaki Technique: A Japanese afforestation practice that creates compact, native‑species forests capable of maturing in a fraction of the usual time.
- Urban Forest: A densely planted green area within city limits that delivers ecological services such as air purification, temperature regulation, and habitat provision.
- Guinness World Record Verification: A strict validation process involving independent adjudicators, technological monitoring (e.g., drones), and transparent counting mechanisms.