Trees, apart from being our lifeline also soothe our senses, with the lush green sight breaking the monotony of mega structures and concrete houses. But random planting of saplings may not be the solution to see our city in the lap of greeneries. Instead of doing good, the result can be disastrous.
The trees which were planted unscientifically in earlier times got uprooted following gusty thunderstorms, blocking important city roads and throwing the traffic out of gear. The uprooted trees had weak root system that could not provide anchorage in the midst of storm lashings. KMC had to set up a disaster management team to remove the uprooted trees and also other trees that were likely to have the same fate.
"Conducting a survey before planting saplings is a more scientific and logical approach rather than just blindly going for it," said Debashis Kumar, member, mayor-in-council (parks and squares).
KMC have built a team of 10 leading Botanists from Calcutta University and Rabindra Bharati University. They have already started a survey of several parks and squares in the city to ascertain which areas need green coverage.
Soil test will be conducted by them to ensure the quality of soil and select the saplings according to soil conditions to enhance their survival rate.
KMC is planning to plant nearly one lakh saplings this year which will have 50,000 - 60,000 saplings of bigger trees, others being roadside and median shrubs.
Four to five thousand trees planted every year on an average have showed 75% survival rate, according to a senior civic official. Many trees perish every year and the reasons can be linked to the deleterious habits of mankind.
Many trees are mercilessly cut to provide space for Billboards for advertisements. Apart from unscientific way of planting trees that often shrink their space to grow, roadside pollution also play a demonic role to nab their life in an early stage.
The green drive with a scientific touch to it will not only gift us a green relief to our eyes and fresh air to breathe, but also a hope for a better tomorrow.
"He who plants a tree, plants a hope."- Lucy Larcom
