Abu Dhabi siblings power Delhi green drive

Planting 1m-tree campaign' is a people's movement by commoners from New Delhi and national capital regions.

An Abu Dhabi-based brother-sister pair is on a mission to help plant one million trees in New Delhi.

Rohin Bajaj, a Grade 9 student of Abu Dhabi Indian School, and Varnica Bajaj, a former student, are part of the core team of a campaign to transform New Delhi from the world's most polluted capital into a greener place.

'Planting 1m-tree campaign' is a people's movement by commoners from New Delhi and national capital regions. Varnica and Rohin, Abu Dhabi's eco-warriors, flew to their home town of New Delhi to do their bit, which includes visits to local schools, holding awareness sessions to drum up support for the campaign, adding as many volunteers as possible, scouting nurseries to provide free saplings, convincing organisations to support the campaign and managing social media drive.

Varnica and Rohin hit the road for the past two weeks and despite heavy rain and waterlogging in New Delhi, they remain on course to help achieve the target by today. Varnica, a Boston University graduate, said over the phone from New Delhi: "We saw the post of plantation drive on the social media platform. We joined the core team to organize the campaign in New Delhi. We are campus ambassadors and reach out to different schools in Delhi. We are organizing collection centers in schools for students to donate saplings and join us as volunteers. They can also make donations to buy saplings."

Rohin noted the campaign has set ambitious target but such a movement is need of the hour. "Everyone needs to step up to make Delhi environment safer and greener. We have received an overwhelming response from schools. While youngsters have readily come forward, few nurseries backed out from supplying free saplings. So, we have upped efforts with fundraising. Donations from a single rupee to a dirham will help make a difference.