KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) Ghatal MP Dev has found support from the Bengali film industry for his ambitious mega plantation drive. The popular actor and three-time MP from Ghatal, has launched the ‘Green Ghatal’ mission. This initiative aims to plant over 1.5 million trees, mirroring the number of votes cast in his constituency, over the next five years. Joining him in this noble cause are Tollywood actors Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rukmini
Maitra. Both actors have taken to social media to announce their pledge to donate 10,000 trees each to the Ghatal plantation project.
“I have also received numerous personal messages from industry colleagues eager to donate trees. With temperatures continuously rising due to global warming, it’s clear that only trees can provide the necessary relief and protection for our environment,” said Dev.
After filing his nomination papers, Dev announced that if he won the Lok Sabha polls, he would plant as many trees as the number of votes he received. Staying true to his word, he travelled to Ghatal’s Sabang to kick off the plantation drive soon after winning the polls. Interestingly, he is the first MP in India to undertake such an initiative. “When I make promises, I prioritise fulfilling them,” he said.
Despite Opposition criticism, Dev remains focused on his priorities. Within a week of winning the election, he began working on another promise from his campaign: implementing the Ghatal Master Plan. On Wednesday, Dev took a major step forward by meeting state irrigation minister Partha Bhowmik to advance the project.
“This is our first step. We had a fruitful meeting where we discussed how to proceed with the plan.
The Ghatal Master Plan is an ambitious project that will take a minimum of five years to complete,” said Dev.
The actor-politician mentioned that they have preliminarily identified the areas for the project. “We will need two pumping stations and there will be extensive work near the
riverbeds, small water bodies, and land.
We need to engage the people of Ghatal for their assistance in implementing this. I know the people of Ghatal have been waiting for the Ghatal Master Plan for the longest time. Starting next week, engineers will be in Ghatal to demarcate and survey the area.
The irrigation department has already done its homework, which was evident in the meeting,” Dev told
Millennium Post.