2020-07-01 Wed

Save trees, Save Earth, We are the guardians of nature's birth! – Van Mahotsav – the Festival of Forests begins in India.

Van Mahotsava is celebrated as a festival of life. In India, it was started as a crusade to save mother earth. Van Mahotsava is an annual tree-planting festival in the month of July. The festival was started by K. M. Munshi, the Union Minister for Agriculture and Food in the year 1950. It was started to create awareness in the mind of the people for the conservation of forests and planting of new trees.

People celebrate Van Mahotsava by planting trees or saplings in homes, offices, schools, colleges, etc. Awareness campaigns are held at various levels. The planting of trees during the festival serves various purposes like providing alternative fuel, increase production of food resources, helps create shelter-belts around fields to increase productivity, provide food for cattle, offers shade and decorative landscapes, helps conserves soil deterioration, etc.

The festival educates the awareness of trees among people and portrays the need for planting and tending of trees. India in 1981 issued a One Rupee stamp on Conservation of Forests. The stamp depicts a green forest on contrasting yellow background with text in red color.

Visit philamart to view and purchase a variety of stamps from all over the world.

Image Courtesy: Colnect.com