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Go green but with well-planned plantation drive, say Vizagites [Visakhapatnam] [Times of India](Times of India Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) VISAKHAPATNAM: A coherent, sustainable and multidimensional plantation drive is what the Hudhud-affected Port City needs urgently to be able to win back its green city tag at the earliest, feel readers of The Times of India. Expressing solidarity with the newspaper's mission to make Vizag 'Green Again', scores of readers have written in to TOI over the past few weeks, promising to extend all possible assistance to make this campaign a success. They have also listed out an array of probable solutions that they feel should be incorporated into the government's existing efforts to restore some of Vizag's lost green wealth. "Vizag should focus on planting Neem, Banyan and other big trees. Apart from being strong, these trees are also helpful in bringing down carbon-dioxide levels and thus controlling temperature," said K S V S N Murthy, while pointing out particular parts of Vizag, such as the Old Jail area, the pocket around RTC complex, the Biodiversity Park at Peda Waltair, among others, that need maximum attention. Taking this recommendation forward, Padma Shri Dr K Surya Rao said how all plantation drives taken by hereafter need to be scientifically planned so that "they do not invade into the space covered by power cables and communication networks". "Planting excess trees along pavements can cause widespread damage during a storm. It can pull down electrical wires and destroy compound walls. We need to learn from our mistake and plant more trees along the dividers," added reader, C S Manya. As a long-term plan, Dr Rao suggested better planning of the city so that it would result in sufficient lung space and make up for the loss. "In Vizag, 80% of the schools have no lung space and no plantation drives. Immediate steps should be taken to make these schools and colleges join the 'Green Again' campaign and take necessary measures," he said. Even government and private employees should take part in this mission as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR), felt Santosh Kumar Mohanty while recommending free distribution of saplings (like teak wood) among the people of Vizag by the concerned authorities. "But none of these measures will be effective unless we make a conscious effort to move away from the use of environment-unfriendly things like plastic and embrace green energy," opined Manab Ranjan Patnaik, coaxing all residents to start with planting at least two saplings within their compounds to take the first step in the right direction. "Plantation and maintenance should be an ongoing activity and it should not be just an occasional event," Dr Rao insisted, effectively summing up the sentiment of Vizag's residents. (c) 2014 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited |