Context

• The Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, on the second day of his Meghalaya visit, launched the Green Sohra Afforestation Campaign at Sohra (Cherrapunji).

About

• Cherrapunji or Sohra is a subdivisional town in Meghalaya.
• It sits on a plateau in the southern part of the Khasi Hills.
• It is the traditional capital of ka hima Sohra (Khasi tribal kingdom).
• Sohra has often been credited as being the wettest place on Earth, but for now nearby Mawsynram currently holds that distinction.
• It still holds the all-time record for the most rainfall in a calendar month and in a year, however.
• Despite abundant rainfall, Sohra faces an acute water shortage.
• Soils on the plateau are poor owing to deforestation and washout caused by heavy rainfall.
• There are some interesting living root bridges in villags near Sohra like the Umshiang root bridge, Mawsaw root bridge, Ritymmen root bridge and the Double Decker root bridge.
• Sohra has a mild subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb), with monsoonal influences typical of India.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1738816

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