Agartala, 4th September 2026 : A three-year-old environmental initiative from Kailashahar has grown into a notable plantation movement in Tripura, with Go Green Volunteers claiming to have planted more than 20,000 trees across different parts of the state since launching its “Back to Nature” mission in 2023.
The organisation, which began its activities in July 2023, has been working on tree plantation, sapling protection and environmental awareness with support from the Kailashahar Municipal Council, the sub-divisional administration and the Kailashahar Press Club.
With nearly 50 volunteers, including women, the group has mainly targeted roadsides, educational institutions and other public spaces for plantation drives. Founding member Mrinal Kanti Sinha said the organisation generally selects native fruit-bearing and medicinal species for plantation.
However, maintaining the saplings has emerged as a major challenge. Sinha said the present survival rate stands at around 60 per cent. The organisation had achieved an 84 per cent survival rate during its first year, but several saplings were subsequently damaged allegedly due to vandalism and infrastructural development.
Despite these setbacks, a number of plantation sites have developed into visible green stretches. The organisation has undertaken plantation drives at Pecharthal JNB, Bilashpur Sringeri Math, Ramakrishna Math and Mission Road, Kailashahar Airport Road and the approach road to Vidyanagar School.
The group has also experimented with environmentally friendly methods of protecting young trees. Through its “Green Guards” initiative, implemented with the Unakoti Forest Sub-Division, nearly 60,000 discarded plastic bottles have reportedly been reused as protective guards for saplings.
Another ongoing initiative, “Green Unakoti, Save Unakoti”, aims to increase green cover on the Unakoti hilltop. Around 2,000 fruit-bearing saplings have been planted there in collaboration with the Kailashahar Forest Sub-Division.
Sinha said Rs 3.80 lakh was sanctioned from the MLA BEUP fund by Social Welfare and Social Education Minister Tinku Roy and MLA Birajit Sinha for the project.
The plantation drive at Unakoti is intended not only to restore biodiversity but also to contribute to the revival of Sita Kunda and support an environment suitable for local wildlife.
Go Green Volunteers has also completed a Miyawaki forest plantation at PM Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kailashahar, in association with the institution.
The organisation’s activities extend beyond plantation. Its volunteers conduct awareness campaigns and raise concerns over tree cutting, damage to saplings and the removal of protective iron guards.
According to Sinha, securing suitable land for plantation remains one of the key difficulties. While the municipal council and district administration have extended cooperation, protecting mature saplings from vandalism continues to be a concern.
Several trees that had already grown considerably were allegedly destroyed by miscreants, highlighting the gap between plantation drives and long-term conservation.
The volunteers now believe that public participation will be crucial to improving the survival rate and ensuring that the thousands of saplings planted over the past three years develop into lasting green cover.
For Go Green Volunteers, the campaign is therefore no longer limited to planting trees. It has evolved into a broader effort to encourage communities across Tripura to plant, protect and take responsibility for the state’s natural environment.
