Bhagalpur district magistrate Prem Singh Meena (left) with Promod and Rani in Dharhara on Thursday. Picture by Amit Kumar

Promod Singh (32) was downbeat after his daughter was born last December. Six months on, he realised his folly as the chief minister would visit his home this Sunday and plant a mango sapling to celebrate her birth.

The poor father, a landless daily wage agriculture earner, had never imagined that the chief minister would come down to his home to celebrate the birth of his daughter Rani Kumari. “When Rani was born on December 12, 2012, me and my wife Munni Devi were a bit frustrated owing to our limited means. When we heard last Tuesday that the chief minister would plant the sapling for my daughter, I could not believe it at first. But I felt proud as well,” said Promod.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar, who champions the cause of women empowerment, would plant the sapling at Dharhara hamlet in the name of Rani — the six-month-old girl.

The custom of planting a sapling for a female child has long been a practice in Dharhara hamlet.

On June 6, 2010, Nitish, impressed with the practice, had planted a mango sapling to celebrate the birth of Laby. Since then, the chief minister visits the village every year around World Environment Day to plant a sapling for a girl child.

Last week, the district administration received directions from the chief minister’s official residence to identify a girl child in the hamlet so that Nitish would be able to plant a sapling in her name.

Bhagalpur district magistrate Prem Singh Meena said: “Nitishji would come to Dharhara by helicopter from Kishanganj on June 9 around 1pm. The chief minister would stay in the village for around an hour before flying back to the state capital.”

Lalan Singh, a social activist at Gopalpur block, said: “Dharhara has inspired the nation to plant seeds for the girl child. In 2012, the initiative was depicted in the Republic Day tableau in New Delhi.”