KMC starts building green verges at major thoroughfares in city
KOLKATA: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is developing green verges at major thoroughfares in the city with the aim to reduce carbon footprints.
Work is going on in full swing at Ballygunge Circular Road. Gradually all the major roads where traffic movement is high will have such green verge. “We are spending about Rs 10 crore for this. At roads where median is available, the green verge will be developed and in other places, the footpaths will be used for this purpose,” Debasish Kumar, Member Mayor-in-Council (Parks & Gardens), KMC said while addressing a workshop on Air Quality on Wednesday.
Talking about other major initiatives taken by KMC in curbing air pollution, Kumar said that 10 parks maintained by his department have shifted to solar energy. “The capital investment is huge when it comes to installation of solar panels but we are gradually doing it. There are 700 parks in the city maintained by KMC so it is indeed a challenge but we are up to it,“he added.
The severe cyclonic storm Amphan that had hit the state in May 2020 had dealt a telling blow to the city’s green cover when more than 15,000 trees were damaged and many of them were uprooted. “We have planted 1 lakh odd saplings since then, and all of them are fruit bearing trees that do not go beyond 10 feet. There are minimal chances of these trees getting uprooted. Interestingly, after we planted these trees there has been an increase in birds in the city,“Kumar said.
Heavy trees like Krishnachura, Radhachura among others were found to bear the brunt of the damage perpetuated by Amphan.