Shillong, June 9: About planting saplings for posterity, poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore said, “The one who plants trees knowing that he or she will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.”
This was the essence of Saturday’s tree planting programme, which was organised by the Police Officers’ Wives Association for Care (POWAC), on the campus of the Meghalaya Police Academy at Umran in Ri Bhoi.
POWAC president Maureen Sangma, its general secretary Cheryl Kharshong and other guests who spoke on the occasion emphasized the novelty of planting saplings so that the future generation can enjoy the shade and fruits.
Altogether, 356 saplings were planted, of which 36 are fruit-bearing plants. POWAC was celebrating 30 years of its existence.
DGP Idashisha Nongrang was the chief guest at the programme. Nongrang, who loves gardening, said it is therapeutic to nurture the greens and that she grew up seeing her mother practice avid gardening.
“I had suggested planting betel nut trees but I was informed that would not be possible, so I said why not fruit trees? Many of us will probably not be there to see the full-grown trees,” she said during the programme.
On the journey of POWAC, Nongrang praised the association and its members for their yeoman service in running the Meghalaya Police Public School.
Mary GT Sangma, the principal of the Police Training School, lauded the initiative to plant fruit trees. “Initially, the decision was to have an orchard at the directors’ bungalow but DGP ma’am suggested planting the fruit trees along with the ornamental and forest trees. I found this a democratic approach as everyone has the right to the fruits in the future,” she added.
