World Soil Day: Candle lighting ceremony held 

Chandigarh, December 5, 2022: The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) Punjab in association with the UT Chandigarh Chapter of Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) and with the support of Guardians of Nature Foundation (GNF) and Isha Foundation on Monday organized a candle lighting activity at Sector 17 Plaza here on the occasion of World Soil Day.
 
Chandigarh mayor Sarbjit Kaur also graced the occasion . The candle lighting activity which was held as a commitment ceremony under the theme - 'Healthy Soil , Healthy Life'  raised awareness among the people about the deteriorating soil health and measures needed to preserve the health of soil for healthy life and food security.

“There is no life without healthy soil as we will not have anything to eat in case the deterioration of soil keeps going  on at the current pace. It is time to come together and contribute to the preservation of soil’s health for our food security,” said Jagjit Majha, President, CREDAI Punjab, adding that people’s participation in large numbers in today’s candle lighting shows their concern for the health of the soil, which is a positive sign.

The event, also supported by PCL Housing, New Chandigarh, saw the participation of people from all walks of life. They were also holding placards with slogans such as ‘Healthy Soil, Healthy Life’ bringing home the point of taking care of soil’s health.

“This ceremony is a significant move to ensure that the health of soil is maintained at any cost. At GNF, we have planted and monitored more than 2.5 lakh trees in the past three years and have a goal of growing 10 lakh saplings by 2025,” said Sukhmani Singh, CEO of Guardians of Nature Foundation (GNF).
 
She said that India being a highly populous country has a tree population of 35 billion trees, leading to just 28 trees per person. GNF aims to raise this number through its various campaigns and join more people in this cause, she added.

It is worth mentioning that GNF is a Punjab based NGO, engaged in promoting greenery. Heartfulness, an NGO focussed on imparting know-how to improve the well being of people also supported the activity  , which saw   participation of over 50 people.