In a first of its kind initiative, author Khushwant Singh, The Hoshiarpur Literary Society and Punjab fOREST Department planted trees to negate the carbon footprint of Khushwant Singh’s upcoming novel, The Opium Coffee. The Punjab Forest Department carried out this drive at Punjab Forest Nursery at Mullanpur. The dpartment planted 1,500 trees, including species like Shishma, kanakchampa, rajjhain, australian kiker and others.
According to Singh, this idea came to him during a conversation with s friend from the organisation, Sustain to Survive. ” I am sure the step which we have taken will find roots and many such initiatives will follow. Rough estimates suggest that 15 trees over a life cycle can offset one ton of CO2. Keeping in mind the various steps involved in writing and publishing, the mortality of plants in forest conditions etc., I figured that 1,500 trees would be a safe figure to plant.” explains Singh.
The Opium Coffee is a love story set in Punjab and London in 1980.
