Vaishno Devi Shrine Board uses drones for plantation drive in Katra hills

Jammu, Jan 29: In a major push towards environmental conservation, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has launched an extensive plantation drive in the Trikuta hills of Katra, using drone technology to sow seeds in difficult and inaccessible areas.

Under this special campaign, the Board not only planted saplings through traditional methods but also used modern drone technology to sow seeds in difficult and inaccessible areas.

The drive was carried out in collaboration with CRPF 6th Battalion, the Forest Department, and students and trainees of a nursing college.

Officials said that plantation of over 6,500 saplings of various species was carried out on this occasion by the Forest Department of the Shrine Board during the programme.

Priority was given to species suitable for the local climate and those effective in preventing soil erosion, they said.

The officials further informed that sprinkling of twenty kilograms of seeds through drones as carried out in areas of the hills where human access is extremely difficult and risky.

” During the campaign, around 20 kilograms of seeds of indigenous species such as amla, shisham, pomegranate, cassia, kachnar, mor pankh, bamboo and sukh-chain were sown using drones.” they stated.

This technique is expected to prove effective in restoring greenery on barren and vacant slopes where conventional plantation was not feasible.

Chief Executive Officer of the Shrine Board, Sachin Kumar Vaishya said that the initiative is part of the “Annual Green Plan 2025–26”, aimed at preserving the natural beauty of the Trikuta hills and strengthening ecological balance.

He added that the Board has already planted lakhs of saplings in the past, with a survival rate of more than 70 to 80 per cent.