KMC’s shield against erosion: Coconut trees along Hooghly
Times of India | 29 December 2024
123 Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) parks department has initiated a coconut tree plantation along the Hooghly as part of the beautification of major ghats and to combat soil erosion. The civic body's horticulturists planted rows of coconut trees at Prinsep Ghat. According to a KMC parks department official, coconut trees will be planted at all major ghats along the Hooghly, including Bajekadamtolla Ghat (Babughat), Doighat (Kidderpore), Nimtolla Ghat, Bagbazar Ghat, and Ahiritolla Ghat, among others, depending on the availability of space.
After planting coconut trees at Prinsep Ghat, the department is looking for space at other ghats. "We have identified a couple of ghats where we will take up coconut tree plantation in the next few months," said the official.
According to Ranjit Samanta, a veteran horticulturist, the civic body should encourage the planting of more coconut trees as these type of trees are ideal for preventing soil erosion. "Roots of a coconut tree tightly hold the earth around it, thereby resisting soil erosion at the riverbank. This species of tree needs less space, so rows of coconut trees can be planted even if space is limited," said Samanta.
Mayor Firhad Hakim has asked the KMC parks department to concentrate on planting more coconut trees along the riverbank. "We have decided to plant trees at all major ghats along the Hooghly — from Kidderpore to Bagbazar Ghat. We have been advised by experts to plant these trees in large numbers to fight soil erosion at the ghats. We have taken up the job and will need to find more space for coconut tree plantation. We need to save our ghats along the Hooghly at all costs," said Hakim.
According to a KMC parks department official, the civic body has decided to plant 20,000 ‘weeping debdaru' trees across the city after a huge loss of greenery caused by the cyclone Amphan in 2020. In addition, KMC decided to plant 10,000 neem saplings. Besides ‘debdaru' and neem, they were also keen on planting bakul, jarul, and kadam saplings on pavements along major thoroughfares.
"We took up a special plantation drive for planting 20,000 ‘weeping debdaru' saplings on smaller pavements as these need less space to grow. These saplings are planted under a plantation drive, Kalpabrishkha, in association with Credai. The state forest department has agreed to provide us with 10,000 neem saplings," the civic official said.
To compensate for the loss of greenery, the KMC parks department has taken up compensatory plantation in areas located close to the zones where most of the large trees were uprooted. However, this time, the civic body will need to select the saplings carefully, considering the character of the city's soil. "From our experience, we have seen that selecting large tree species like Radhachura or Krishnachura need larger space, and their roots don't have the space to go deeper. Instead, we may choose weeping devdaru that will offer a large canopy, and at the same time, they won't be uprooted easily," said a KMC official.
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