Second Phase of Historic Aman Ekta Hariyali Yatra Hits Gujarat

What started in Rishikesh, winding its way through Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh with stops in Haridwar, Saharanpur, Muzzafarnagar, Deoband and Shamli and planting over 6,000 trees along the way, made its way into Gujarat and Ahmedabad for the second wave of an event that Interfaith Leaders believe will encourage their followers to combat climate change and water scarcity.  Beginning with meetings with the state’s governor, Acharya Shri Dev Vratji, Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, Founder of the Ganga Action Parivar (GAP) and Co-Founder of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, and Maulana Mahmood Madaniji, Secretary General of Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind (JUH), took-off for another 7 cities in Gujarat for large-scale tree plantations designed to make the sacred land of Gujarat clean and green in an inspiring way.

As Pujya Swamiji said, “At a time in which water crisis and environmental crisis are staring us in the face, it is time for action!  We must come together and be together and this is the objective of this Aman Ekta Hariyali Yatra. Tree plantation is a means through which we bring coolness to the Earth.  But, planting trees together is a means by which we bring coolness to our hearts and minds. Because there can be a plan A and plan B, but there can not be a planet B. There is one planet.  Together, we must protect, preserve and serve that planet.”

Through this yatra, the faith leaders emphasized that trees are the key to reverse the devastating effects of climate change.  The essential message of this interfaith yatra is to inspire mass tree plantation, and to prevent and stop the utilization of single-use plastic while working together to conserve water through rainwater harvesting, treatment of wastewater and conservation of established water resources.  In addition, the leaders committed to working to restore India’s blessed rivers – Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, in particular – as both GAP and GIWA have been charged with doing for nearly a decade.