The ‘Ente Maram, Ente Jeevan’ (My Tree, My Life) initiative jointly organised by Asianet News and the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) has set a new Guinness World Record for the maximum people hugging trees simultaneously.
The event, held on Tuesday 21 st March 2017 on the JNTBGRI premises at Palode, saw 4,620 people hugging trees to mark International Day of Forests.
Governor P. Sathasivam inaugurated the event by embracing a tree himself. Forest Minister K. Raju, DGP Loknath Behara, district panchayat president V.K. Madhu, MLAs D.K. Murali and K.S. Sabarinath, Asianet News Director Frank P. Thomas, Asianet News Editor M.G. Radhakrishnan and ERAM Group Chairman Dr Siddeek Ahmed were present. ‘Ente Maram, Ente Jeevan’ broke the existing record of the largest tree hug set by Tata Chem DAV Public School, Mithapur, Gujarat, in December 2016, where 1,316 people had participated.
People from all walks of life poured into the sprawling bio-diversity rich premises of Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanical Garden of India (JNTBGRI) from the morning on Tuesday to participate in the unique tree-hugging event ‘Ente Maram, Ente Jeevan’ (My tree, My life) and to set a new world record. They erupted in joy as the representative of the Guinness Book of World Record declared it a world record event of maximum people hugging trees simultaneously.
‘The record to break was 1316. Final number today is 4,620. A new world record has been set,” Rishi Nath, Guinness World Records Adjudicator, announced. He also handed over the official certificate to Frank P Thomas,Asianet News Business Head .
Besides setting a new world record, the event organized by Asianet News in collaboration with JNTBGRI and partnered with ERAM Group on the International Day of Forests, stressed the need for protecting the forests and environment. The participants took the pledge to conserve forests and protect trees. As a token of their resolve, they carried home saplings presented by the organizers.
Students of Al Iqbal College, Peringamala guided the participants into designated plots in the garden. Experts from the JNTBGRI were present at each plot to assist the representative of the Guinness Book of World Records.
