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Trees to be back on Sheshadri Road
Srivatsava - 31 March, 2009 | Bangalore | Trees | Underpass | Media Reports
Saw this article in todays TOI
The main article didnt impress me much. The significant aspect of the story is that most of the trees will be back....
Expect most trees back on Seshadri Road in another 10-12 days! The Palike had cut down at least 150-200 trees on this stretch for road-widening in the past few months. However, most are expected to be replanted along the sides and medians.
Now, thats a very positive step. I would only hope that this time the Palike/Hortculture dept, whichever dept plants the trees, will plan what variety of trees will be planted.
We cant have
- large trees obstructing the footpath
- its roots ripping off the sidewalls of storm water drains
- the trees bending towards the roads, obstructing motor flow
- the leaves/branches spreading out at low heights, some times 3-4 feet from the ground
COMMENTS
As far as I could tell these
deepakar - 4 April, 2009 - 12:26
As far as I could tell these trees where CHOPPED ! I'm wondering if they only mean that they will plant new saplings.
Deepak Rajanna
Wonder if they will be new saplings
mcadambi - 31 March, 2009 - 12:01
Transplanted trees have a low rate of survival.
I wonder if the BBMP plans to plant more trees. Cheap Silver Wood is a good option.
As far as I remember, those
Arun - 31 March, 2009 - 14:27
As far as I remember, those trees were huge for any replanting experiment in any part of the world. Also the survival rate is very low. Maybe another BBMP gimmick. Lot of native trees, viz., neem, jackfruit, champaka, honge, etc, etc are available which grow straight. Also in many cities (better cities of the world) trees are pruned scientifically and allowed to grow straight, for eg KL. A very good book written by Mr.Neghinal, IFS (Retd) is available which the incumbent Tree Officer can have as a guide and start planting trees. It is his responsibility to restore some amount of greenery as his act has caused colossal damage to Bangalore. He has undone what the best Dewans of Mysore State have done. BBMP should develop nurseries where saplings are allowed to grow for more than a year and bring them on to the streets where they survive rather than planting real tiny ones which die very soon.
Land/soil in urban areas must be used for fruitful purpose
Vasanthkumar Mysoremath - 1 April, 2009 - 05:13
Arun,
I agree with you. Urban land is at a premium. Authorities have felled decades old rain trees etc., that were home for hundreds of birds, bees and insects, under the guise of creating transport infrastructure. Now money is being spent to replant and doubts are expressed about their sprouting.
Available land must be planted with saplings that yield flowers, fruits, seeds and other varieties like herbal and aromatic species so that the produces attract the birds, bees and insects that help in natural polination process. We have chased away our equal partners of this delicate earth by encroaching upon their share of the world. We must make up the loss that has been incurred by them. They in turn are attacking human habitats for their livelihood. Recently, a leopard came down from the Chamundi Hill forest area to the foothills human habitat, only to be killed mercelessly by scared human beings; elephants drugged and killed/shot near Bannerghatta, another herd of elephants raided the banana plantation and destroyed the crop. These are all signals of the impending doom of animals, birds, bees and also human beings.
Let some living being take the honey, eat the fruits and seeds and help nature to grow and also act as carbon sinks in namma Bengaluru. Authorities are recovering encroached lands and are auctioning them with all the greed for creating more and more monstro-cities that spew deadly CO2 and green house gases that are affecting our climatic conditions resulting in global warming or global dimming. Instead, such lands must be used for planting as many useful trees/saplings for the common good of man and animal species.
We have done enough damage to nature and it is time to give back to the nature for posterity. Otherwise, our future generations will curse us because we did not effect a natural online course correction when it was within our reach.
Vasanthkumar Mysoremath
Tree Gyan page??
Srivatsava - 1 April, 2009 - 07:07
Arun, mcadambi,
You seem to have some knowledge of trees ( many times better than me, who can identify only ashoka trees that were all around national high school). Is is possible to have a gyan page on Praja, which will detail the characteristics of different trees.
I would love you to consolidate the factors like - height of the tree, width of the trunk, environmental utility(O2 and CO2 quantities absorbed/released), maintainance needed, sapling cost, min spacing between two trees and so on.. You could ppossibly then recommend different trees for different types of roads - arterial roads, main roads, residential lanes and even possibly for variety of medians and footpaths.
why dont we do it?
blrsri - 1 April, 2009 - 07:09
BBMP nurseries etc are all fine!
However can we do it ourselves?
Make a change atleast in the environment around us?
I guess it will not be difficult..
Calling all tree enthusiasts..let me know if you can adopt 2 or more saplings..take care of them and replant when they are old enough and strong enough! Please respond if you are interested..I can arrange for the saplings..for FREE!
Obviously new saplings
das - 4 April, 2009 - 15:37
"However, most are expected to be replanted along the sides and medians."
You're right. It's obviously new saplings that will be planted. The wording however gives the impression (I wonder if it was deliberate) that the 40 to 50 year old trees that were chopped down will be replanted.
This whole logic of "Oh, don't worry, we're planting 10 trees for every tree that we cut down" is phony anyway. It'll take the trees 50 years to grow back to their original size, and maybe our grand children will be able to enjoy their shade.
Attn: blrsri, deepakar, das
Vasanthkumar Mysoremath - 6 April, 2009 - 14:42
Let me give you a little statistics - many want to be convinced with stats before accepting the truth and nothing but the truth :
One grown up tree gives oxygen to a man for 134 years.
Man cannot live for 134 years but the tree lives to take care of generations of mankind.
Whatever you guys are trying to do is just wonderful. It is time to be practical than depend upon authorities who keep talking about planting 10 saplings in lieu of one tree destroyed. It is easy to plant these 10 saplings - where? When? Who is looking after them and nursing them? This dikhaawaa is not worth believing. I am a deadly optimistic senior citizen and have been nursing more than 15 swiss cherry trees in namma Bengaluru and Mysoru. Whenever I go and stand under these trees with their umbrella-like branches with red sweet cherries, I lovingly pluck them, brush them and put them in my mouth and enjoyed the sweetness and I have felt divinely blessed.
I have photographed/videographed a number of bees - Kaadu Jenu etc., visiting the flowers, collecting nectar from those little white flowers, do their job of polination and hungry parakeets, green berets, mynahs, crows, squirrels, cuckoos flying in during day time to have their desert and in the night, the bats making beeline to take their share. It is a wonderful world and has to be experienced live.
Let us ALL do something practical and feel happy that we have done whatever best we can to respect mother nature, for, she has taken care of all of us irrespective of our color or creed.
Log on to http://treesforfree.org - discuss with Janet - a lady with a sapling in her hand - always cell No.9845449703.
-Vasanthkumar Mysoremath
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