BSF plants 4 lakh saplings in 30 minutes

“Neither candies nor gifts will be offered or taken on August 14, Pakistan’s Independence Day and August 15, when India got freedom in 1947”, a senior government officer said.

In Tripura with the theme, “Save the Tree, Save the Earth – We are the Guardians of Nature’s Birth”, some 25,000 saplings were planted by BSF across the state’s 857 km border with Bangladesh on Wednesday.

While Pakistan will celebrate its Independence Day on Friday, India’s falls on Saturday.

Speaking to media at Mohali adjoining Chandigarh, he said he had sent a communique to union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for beefing up deployment of security forces along the Punjab border to avert any kind of terror strike.

Pakistan and Indian forces at the border usually exchange candies and pleasantries on national days such as Independence Day, Republic Day and significant religious holidays of both countries including Eid and Diwali.

The initiative also helped better their own record of last year when a total of more than 3,90,000 saplings were planted which went into the Limca Book of Records.

According to reports, there have been repeated ceasefire violations from Pakistani side and two terror incidents in Gurdaspur in Punjab and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir. On Tuesday, Pakistan had lodged a protest with India over the latest ceasefire violations at the LoC.

The exchange of candies at borders has been a customary practice, but relations between the two countries have worsened this year due to frequent violations of a ceasefire line dividing the border between the two countries.