5/5 Yovel B. 2 years ago on Google
While
the
world
offers
a
collective
sigh
in
response
to
any
headline
regarding
deforestation
or
the
impending
cataclysmic
effect
of
climate
change,
a
city
in
Chattisgarh
is
taking
matters
into
their
own
hands.
Raipur
wasn’t
making
just
another
statement
when
they
said
that
they
were
“planting
trees
on
wherever
land
is
available,”
and
are
creating
their
own
microcosmic
forest
within
the
district.
Omprakash
Choudhary,
the
District
Collector
of
Raipur,
and
his
team
are
reforesting
areas
right
at
the
heart
of
the
city.
Approximately
18-acres
of
land
is
being
allocated
to
creating
an
‘oxy-zone’
or
a
natural
forest
area
that
would
provide
the
city
its
much
needed
breeze
of
cleaner
air.
Raipur
is
the
seventh
most
polluted
city
in
the
world
and
this
project
reflects
an
awknowledgment
that
this
rampant
pollution
has
gone
on
for
too
long.
The
structure
behind
the
oxy-zone
was
inspired
by
New
York
City’s
Central
Park
and
the
city
government
has
gone
with
the
decision
to
clear
plots
of
land
worth
INR
1,000
crore
-
all
occupied
by
commercial
projects.
So
while
the
rest
of
the
world
is
clearing
forests
to
create
space
for
large
and
profitable
infrastructure,
Raipur
is
flipping
the
coin
over
and
demolishing
buildings
to
plant
trees
in
their
place.
So
far,
95%
of
the
government
office
buildings
that
the
18-acre
land
once
housed
have
been
demolished
and
no
new
buildings
are
to
be
constructed.
Only
5%
of
the
buildings
are
not
in
shambles
or
in
dilapidated
conditions,
and
are
proposed
to
be
used
as
museums
and
cultural
centres.
And
this
project
extends
its
reach
beyond
the
flora,
where
the
80
or
so
families
living
around
the
plot
have
been
shifted
and
rehabilitated
into
better
housing
facilities.
The
idea
behind
these
zones
wasn’t
to
make
them
into
recreational
spaces,
with
manicured
lawns
and
gardens,
but
instead
be
a
untamed
home
for
a
wide
species
of
trees
and
plants.
They
will
also
be
provided
with
water
bodies
that
will
serve
to
replenish
the
ground
water
in
the
vicinity.
The
saplings
are
scheduled
to
be
planted
this
monsoon
season
and
the
project
is
anticipated
to
be
completed
in
the
next
10
months.
And
Raipur
isn’t
just
stopping
there,
“We
de-silted
and
restored
28
ponds
in
the
city
that
were
polluted
with
sewage
water.
Land
is
scarce
here,
but
we
are
trying
to
make
maximum
use
of
the
available
land
to
plant
trees
–
road
sides,
cremation
grounds,
alongside
ponds
etc.
We
have
enforced
new
measures
that
effectively
reduce
the
pollution
caused
by
coal
industries.
Vehicular
emission
tests
are
also
made
stringent,”
said
Omprakash
Choudhary
in
an
interview
with
The
Better
India.
He
also
discussed
his
plans
to
plant
banyan
trees
in
particular
because
they
produce
relatively
more
oxygen
in
comparison
to
other
trees.
The
way
things
are
shaping
up
coupled
with
the
city
of
Raipur’s
enthusiam
suggests
that
by
2020,
Raipur
could
be
a
shining
example
of
effective
environmental
conservationism
2 people found this review helpful 👍