Nadia may soon use Vetiver grass to check soil erosion

If things go as per plan, Nadia will soon become the first district in the country which will use Vetiver grass to check soil erosion.

The panchayat and Zilla parishad have already started the work. 

Last year a team of experts from all over the country had come to attend a workshop where they had interacted with the planters. If successful, the grass will be planted in other flood-hit districts like Murshidabad where soild erosion is a major problem. 

It may be recalled that the Nimtita Rajbati where Satyajit Roy had shot his famous film Jalsaghar is on the brink of destruction. 

The massive structure had tilted and any day the building will topple erasing an important part of history. 

Nimtita where the house is located is affected by land erosion and many buildings have been destroyed by the river.

The advantage of Vetiver grass is its root which goes 20 feet below the soil and helps to hold the land. 

It is found in Tamilnadu. As it is expensive to bring the grass, 53 nurseries have been set up where the grass is being grown.

The international body that looks after Vetiver plantation globally is called The Vetiver Network International where India has three representatives. P Vincent, one of the experts, had visited Nadia and expressed satisfaction over the way the project is being implemented.

The grass is being planted along the banks of six rivers that have flow through the district. 

They are Churni, Mathabhanga, Jalangi, Ichamati and Padma. The total distance covered will be around 723 km. 

The grass is being planted along the banks of the river. Thus a guard wall made of grass will be set up. The grass will save the area from soil erosion. 

It will also give the river bank an aesthetic look. The plantation is now on full swing. Its good result is being felt. 

The whole work is being supervised by the Panchayat and Rural Development Department under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act ( MGNREGA). The estimated cost of the project is Rs 31 crore.

It may be recalled that the project was inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on November 23 in Tehatta. She named the project as Sabujayan. 

“The way the work is being done and monitored, in near future Nadia will set an unique example of combating soil erosion by plating Vetiver grass,” a senior state government official said.