Metro green cover given a twist

Metro green cover given a twist
Deccan Herald

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited might quite fulfil its tall promise of planting 15,000 saplings as compensatory afforestation for the 1,500 trees it would cut or prune, come November.


Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited might quite fulfil its tall promise of planting 15,000 saplings as compensatory afforestation for the 1,500 trees it would cut or prune, come November. But the catch is that none of the saplings will be planted along the alignment.

Take for instance the 5,000 saplings that will be planted at Anjanapura Layout by the Bangalore Development Authority on September 7. This falls nowhere near the alignment.

According to BMRCL managing director V Madhu, footpaths will have to be dug up to plant the saplings alongside the alignment. “Though we are not planting where we are felling trees, the 15,000 saplings will give an overall green cover,” he said. An Environment Monitoring Committee, headed by environmentalist Yellappa Reddy, has thought of other measures to make up for this, he added. Creepers, crawlers and stranglers will be led onto the piers or pillars of the viaduct, through which the train will pass.

This ‘Green Media’ will not only take care of the aesthetics, absenting the dry concrete jungle look, but will also act as oxygen producers, absorbing the respiratory particulate matters (RPMs) and suspended particulate matters (SPMs), bringing down the heat levels two-three degrees, according to Madhu.

Reddy told Deccan Herald that flowering and aromatic creepers will be grown in pots just before the construction activities at each stretch come to an end.

“We plan to hold discussions with the Central Horticulture Department, where the plants can be grown in mist chambers in controlled temperatures. Rooting and conditioning of the plants will happen before they are exposed in the open,” he said, adding that over 20 species will be intermixed or interplanted in a schematic manner.

He said the flowering creepers were the type that would be in bloom throughout the year. Trimming and maintenance, if followed meticulously, would make this green screen a grand success.

These plants are genetically coded for short wet spells and long dry spells and could withstand the rigours of drought. “Each creeper can trap one-two kilos of RPMs and SPMs, and all they need is recycled water sprinkled once a week,” he said.

Honeysuckle, Cinderella Slippers, Night Queen and many others are indigenous species, and easily available, as they grow in abundance in the Western Ghats.

Reddy said that apart from this, the 15,000 saplings to be planted would be indigenous species of flowering nature. “A list of species has already been submitted to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike. These trees will reduce the air pollution levels, and noise pollution because of their structure,” he said.

Trees like Pride of India, whose roots are very strong, are medium-sized and sturdy. Planting of varied species is site-specific.

FACT FILE

* Heat levels to rise 1-2 degrees once the project begins

* Anil Kumble Circle to be the first junction where the project will take off on October 2

* As 1.8 lakh tonnes of steel and 3 lakh tonnes of cement will be used, medicinal plants, which capture the dust and convert it into oxygen, will also be planted

* A monitoring agency formulated by BMRCL has been recording air quality and noise levels in the City since January 2006. Measures will be taken accordingly so that no further damage will be done to the environment

* A 10 x 6 screen will be put up either at the Brigade Road junction or the Taj Residency Junction by the BMRC soon. Pollution and temperature levels in the City will keep scrolling all through the day on the big screen