National Tree Fair 2013 was launched on Wednesday near the
Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, inaugurated the month-long fair
with a call to plant trees to protect the environment.The forest department of the Ministry of Environment and forest organised the fair.
This year about 75 organisations, 68 private organizations, 1 educational institution and 6 government organisations are participating in the fair, said forest department official Syed Mahmudur Rahman.
He said every year the participants try their best to bring diversity to this fair.
Mahmudur said around 700 species of forest grown, ornamental, fruit bearing, and medicinal plants are available in the fair.
The fruit bearing saplings include banana, guava, star apple, tamarind, grape, strawberry mango, black berry, carambola, wood apple, jackfruit and date sapling.
The medicinal plants in the fair include salad kachu, ulatchandal, kalomegh, basok, harvhanga, neem, bohera, patharkuchi, thankuni, hartaki, amlaki, arahar, arjun and geetakumari.
Some vulnerable and endangered local trees are also on display at the stalls of the National Botanical Garden and Baldha Garden.
Forest officer Mahmudur said the fair would take at least 2/3 days to be crowded.
The fair remains open from 9:00am to 8:00pm.
-With New Age input
