New Delhi: Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of the "city's first bamboo theme park" aiming to enhance the ecological character of Yamuna floodplains and to make it attractive as a recreational and cultural venue, officials said.
More than 25,000 special variety of bamboo saplings, brought from Assam will be planted here. It will achieve the purpose of augmenting the much-needed public spaces in the capital on one hand, and also ensure that the rich biodiversity of the flood plane is preserved and maintained, the DDA said in a statement.
The city's first of its kind initiative has been named 'Baansera' as derived from the Hindi word 'Basera' meaning abode.
The floodplain and riverbed have often been "subjected to encroachments and unauthorised construction", resulting in "grave assault" on the very existence of Yamuna as a river, it said.
The Lt Governor said plantation of bamboos on a large scale will help address the capital's problem of air pollution significantly. Bamboo produces about 30 per cent more oxygen even as it consumes far less water and enriches the soil, he added.
Apart from adding to oxygen to the city's atmosphere, Bamboo groves at the periphery will also help contain pollution caused by seasonal dust storms. In addition to this, bamboo as a source for various economic activities like furniture making, incense sticks etc, will help create employment opportunities and augment incomes in Delhi, he said. "DDA's well-known project of restoration and rejuvenation of the floodplains of River Yamuna is being carried out as an initiative to enhance the ecological character of the floodplains and to make them accessible to the public at large. This project is being taken to a next level under the ambitious 'Baansera' project, conceived and guided by the Lt Governor himself," the DDA said.
An area of 10 hectare of the floodplain, south of NH-24 on the western banks is being developed as a theme-based multipurpose area using bamboo as a material in biotic and abiotic form. While identifying the site in June this year, the LG had instructed for having a 2.5 ha area of depression over there, to be developed into a live water body. Works for the same have been completed and the water body will be a part of 'Baansera', it said.
"The entire area has been categorised into two parts: bamboo recreation primarily in the greenway zone and bamboo plantation along with other riverine plantations," Saxena said.
Lok Sabha MP Gautam Gambhir, Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar and Vice Chairman of DDA Manish Kumar Gupta, were also present on the occasion.