JAMMU, July 29 -- Climate change is real, and the signs are all around us. The earth and our environment are a heritage we must pass on to the next generations-if not improved, at least preserved in our lifetime, asserted Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as he inaugurated the Van Mahotsav 2025 celebrations organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Department at Abhinav Theatre. Let's find joy in planting trees and gifting plants, he remarked, calling on people to transform the festival into a vibrant people's movement.

He was joined by Javed Ahmed Rana, Minister for Jal Shakti, Forest, Ecology and Environment and Tribal Affairs; Advisor to the Chief Minister, Nasir Aslam Wani; Commissioner and Secretary to the Government, Department of Fores...