People from all walks of life participated enthusiastically and planted saplings in a bid to plant 11 lakh trees in a day at Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday and create a world record.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also planted a sapling in the drive at the Rewati firing range ground of the Border Security Force (BSF). “Today is a special day, when the people of Indore are going to create a world record by planting 11 lakh saplings,” Mr Shah said through social media.

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The world record attempt is part of the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 June to mark World Environment Day. Under the drive, around 140 crore trees would be planted across the country, including 5.5 crore in Madhya Pradesh.

Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said that seven lakh of the 11 lakh saplings had been planted by afternoon.

‘Guinness Book Of World Records’ Consultant Nischal Barot and a team of more than 300 volunteers were present at Indore using an app for counting the number of trees being planted. Barot said that the actual number of trees planted would be known in a few days.

The previous world record is in the name of Assam, where 9.26 lakh saplings were planted in 24 hours.