Islamabad, Sep 29 (IANS) A Pakistan Army soldier set a new world record Wednesday by planting the maximum number of saplings in 24 hours.
Lance Naik Muhammad Yousuf Jamil planted 20,101 plants in 24 hours, and broke the earlier record of 15,170 set by Canada’s Ken Chaplin in 2001.
Jamil broke the record in 18 hours and 40 minutes, Xinhua reported.
The soldier started planting saplings in Gujranwala Tuesday at 2.00 p.m. in the presence of a representative from the Guinness Book of World Records.
The saplings were planted in an area of 12 acres, but the Guinness representatives rejected his ‘poorly planted’ 400 saplings.
Lieutenant General Muhammad Mustafa Khan, of the Mangla cantonment, appreciated his effort and awarded him Rs.600,000 ($6,900). Jamil has also been reportedly promoted.
In July 2009, Guinness acknowledged an effort of planting 541,176 mangrove trees by a team of 300 volunteers in a day on 800 acres of land at Keti Bunder in Sindh province.
