Towards a clean and green Bangalore

Towards a clean and green Bangalore
The Times of India


Bangalore was called the Garden City. There were wide roads, exquisite and flowering city trees, carefully tended flower gardens, verdant residential areas and bungalows with gardens and lawns. The biennial flower shows at Glass House showcased this passion for floriculture. The city had a landscape that defined an even broader botanical universe. They all held out an irresistible invitation to relax, recreate, rejuvenate and enjoy. So where have all the flowers gone?

Today, the mindless urban sprawl has gobbled up the leafy confines. An aerial view of the city reveals that the connect with nature has been ruthlessly assaulted. Old-timers will tell you that they are living today with minimal green space and fresh air.

Old-timers see planting of saplings as a sacred duty. Trees provided shelter from the heat of summer. Trees helped residents to be in touch with nature, especially when birds visited them and awakened the household with their sweet music and banter.

Such paeans to trees and laws to protect them as also protests, have not stopped the axe. Successive civic authorities have turned a blind eye as the green belt was encroached upon. Or, when old bungalows were downed and the trees within felled to accommodate highrises. Such over-exploitation of green resources continues under one pretext or another.

Children, teachers and mothers need to appreciate that Planet Earth is our only ship, says the Nobel Peace Prize winner (2004), Wangari Maathai, and therefore what’s needed is ethical steering, a halt to over-exploitation of resources, the need to control the development of cities to prevent the creation of concrete jungles.

With its burgeoning population, changing lifestyles, vanishing greenery, decisions have to be made now to preserve Bangalore. Every resident’s involvement can make all the difference to the kind of the city we want for the future.

Around the world, all great cities addressed such issues. As an upshot, there are several useful referral models. A common factor in all successful management of clean and green, urban growth is government-private sector-citizens partnerships. Shining examples of such shared vision and collaboration is evident when one visits Singapore or Melbourne or Shanghai. In those cities, economic progress has been achieved even while greening them. There is no reason why Bangalore cannot replicate this example.

There is much talk about this issue. The CM has been greatly enthused by the President Abdul Kalam’s vision of a green cover for the state. A special task force comprising the horticulture and other government departments, and citizens, town planners, landscape architects, corporate bodies, NGOs, and voluntary organisations is needed to address the matter.

Small steps taken towards improving the environment can be consolidated, and steps taken towards reducing pollution to make the city’s skies a shade closer to their natural blue and its gardens and green spaces draw more birds.

It was Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan who set the ball rolling by importing rare and exquisite trees and plants. The British, and yet later the Maharaja of Mysore through Sir Mirza Ismail, Krumbiegel, Javaraya, Dr Marie Gowda, et al developed Bangalore into a city of lush green lawns and vibrant flower beds and tree-line boulevards. Currently, the city is the floricultural capital of India. It accounts for a whopping 70 per cent of India’s flower exports. With so much in its favour and the availability of hi-tech and bio-tech resources, Bangalore can well become a model clean, green and beautiful city.

There is an urgent need to plan for that future.

How to green the city

• Map location of trees. Identify areas for planting of saplings.

• Appoint tree wardens/ mobile force to protect and maintain trees.

• Plant saplings in commercial areas.

• Popularise ‘Adopt-a-Tree’ and ‘Adopt-a-Park’ schemes.

• Encourage waste water management and rain-water harvesting.

• Popularise planting of saplings in educational institutions, establish nurseries in
schools.

• Spread the message of clean, green and beautiful city, particularly among GenNext.