Soldier marches to tree plantation record

A Pakistan Army soldier creates a new world record by planting 18,866 saplings within 23 hours and 30 minutes.

A Pakistan Army soldier created a new world record by planting 18,866 saplings within 23 hours and 30 minutes.

Lance Naik Mian Yousaf Jamil a resident of Wazirabad who is commissioned in the Pakistan Army, broke the record of Canadian citizen Ken Chaplin, who holds the previous record for planting 15,170 plants in 24 hours in 2001.

Minister for Environment Hameedullah Jan Afridi and Corps Commander Mangla Ghulam Mustafa congratulated Jamil over his feat. They travelled to Lori village near Gujranawala and awarded special prize to the world record holder.

In July 2009, Pakistan received a certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records in acknowledgment of planting as many as 541,176 mangroves trees in a day on 800 acres of land at Keti Bunder, District Thatta.

Plant a tree, win a prize

The government announced awards for planting maximum trees by organizations and individuals during the Monsoon Tree Plantation season which kicked off on August 10.

The Ministry of Environment also set the target to plant 45.5million trees during the monsoon campaign, one of the launched every year to enhance forest cover to the extent agreed to meet Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).