Children in Gouripur, Mymensingh, spent a whole day planting palm seeds to protect against lightning and natural disasters. From morning to afternoon on Saturday (18 September), they planted palm seeds along one kilometre of the Suriya river bank in Maoha union of the upazila and on both sides of about a kilometre of the road from Nayanagar to Lakshminagar.

Led by Azharul Karim, a fourth-year student of the accounting department at Netrokona Government College, 12 to 15 children took part, including Md Iqbal Hasan, Md Rahul Mia, Md Shakil Mia and Md Ruman Mia.

Azharul Karim said: "Because the crop fields in our village are far from the houses, many farmers are killed by lightning while working in the fields. Many cattle are also killed by lightning every year. We took this initiative because palm trees can protect against these accidents. To carry it out, I spent the whole day planting palm seeds with 12 to 15 children."

He said palm trees are unmatched in preventing soil erosion and keeping nature in balance. They have also long been used to make house posts and hand fans. Palm-leaf fans are part of our heritage, and various goods are made from the fibre of palm branches. However, the number of palm trees is steadily falling.

He added: "Like us, you too can plant the palm seeds lying around at home in your yard or nearby. Or hand those seeds over to us. Let us plant palm seeds to keep nature in balance and to save ourselves from lightning."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.