10k seedlings brought from AP to renew city’s greenery

Bhubaneswar: As many as10,000 seedlings from Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, have been brought to the city for compensatory plantation to restore greenery lost in Cyclone Fani.
Out of the 10,000 seedlings, which have been stocked by the Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC), the city forest division has so far received 1,000 for plantation. Since fragile and exotic species were mostly uprooted or broken in the wind that blew at more than 200 kmph, wind-resistant species such as Baul, Neem, Karanj and Chhatiyan have been brought from AP for afforestation. On Tuesday, forest minister Bikram Keshari Arukh had said the city lost 1.2 lakh trees out of the 22 lakh uprooted in the affected coastal districts.
Divisional forest officer (city) Ashok Kumar Mishra said they have started planting the seedlings. “The seedlings will be planted in a phased manner. We will continue to procure the seedlings from OFDC. Earlier, we selected 37 sites for compensatory plantation with the help of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA),” he said.
Trees in the city were uprooted in BDA and BMC managed parks, roadside, residential buildings, officers’ quarters and several institutions, besides the Nandankan Zoo. Earlier, the city forest division conducted a survey in the aftermath of the cyclone and found some species of trees not affected by wind. Based on the survey, the species were selected. The forest department is also likely to procure species such as jamun, ostha, sunari and patali.
The BDA will take up plantation at prominent parks such as Biju Patnaik Park, Indira Gandhi Park, Buddha Jayanti Park, Buddha Jayanti Park hilltop, Madhusudan Das Park, Netaji Subash Bose Park, Kharvel Park, APJ Abdul Kalam Park, Mahatma Gandhi Park, Janata Maidan and its periphery.
The BMC will plant saplings at Jharapada Melana ground, Badagada crematorium near school, Badagada Jharana Sahi, Badagada Melana ground, Jagannath Temple at Pandara, Pahala, Sailashree Vihar, Kalinga Nagar K8, between Chilli Pokhari and Garage Square, Kolathia, Bhotapada (Canal), Patrapada and AIIMS, Udayagiri Vihar Colony.
Earlier, experts had said a tree species called Alstonia Scholaris (called Chhatiyan in Odia) should be planted along major roads as they can withstand wind speed up to 250 kmph. Such trees planted on the stretch between CRP Square and Ekamra Kanan have not been affected.

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