BU gets Prakriti Mitra award for green campus drive

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Berhampur: State govt has recognised the green campus drive launched by Berhampur University by selecting it for the Prakruti Mitra award for 2024-25. Berhampur is the only university among 185 awardees.
The award is presented to organisations, including several schools, colleges, volunteer organizations and individuals for their contribution towards the protection of environment, plantation and conservation, among others.
Out of the 185 awardees, Ganjam district has the highest of 21, including Berhampur University, Indian Coast Guard, Chhatrapur and Rushikulya sea turtle protection committee. A cash award of Rs 20,000 and a certificate would be presented to each awardee.
"We are happy as the govt recognised our drive for a green campus. The award will encourage students and teachers to participate in the drive," said Geetanjali Dash, vice-chancellor, Berhampur University.
"We have planted over 2,000 saplings of 185 species on the campus as part of the drive," said Padmalochan Murmu, assistant professor of botany and coordinator of the drive. He said they have planned to plant all 5,370 species available in the state on the campus in the next two years.
"Plantation of all species will not only make the campus green, but also help researchers and students, especially botany, to study the plants," he added.
Centre has sanctioned around Rs 32.48 lakh to the university for conservation and multiplication of selected threatened endemic plants of south Odisha. The ministry of environment, forests and climate change has released Rs 11.36 lakh — the first instalment of the three-year project — to the university through Botanical Survey of India (BSI) recently, sources said.
"Under the project, the university will develop a botanical garden of rare, endangered and threatened plant species in around 4 acres of land," said Dash.

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