Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has already transplanted over 30 trees in the city and has planted over 500 saplings in a sincere bid for restoration and augmentation of the green
cover in the city that has suffered massive damage due to the severe cyclonic storm Amphan that hit the state on May 20.
The transplantation and plantation process in the city officially kicked off from June 5 on the occasion of World Environment Day when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee planted three trees- a neem, a bakul and a jarul at Harish Park in Bhowanipore. This has set the stage for the government's plan to plant 7 crore trees through out the state. Every year the state plants 3.5 crore trees but the decision to plant the same number of additional
trees is because of the massive damage to greenery due to Amphan. More than 15000 trees were uprooted in the city itself.
A senior official of the Parks and Square wing of the KMC said that more than 20 trees have been transplanted at Southern Avenue, three trees at ward 88 , three in ward 82 in Chetla where KMC's Chairman of Board of Administrators Firhad Hakim is the coordinator , one infront of IPS quarter at Ballygunge Circular Road, one infront of the Naktala residence of Education minister Partha Chatterjee, one infront of Gariahat residence of Panchayat and Rural Development minister Subrata Mukherjee and another three at Pratapaditya Road near Rashbehari.
"500 saplings have already been planted and in the next week many saplings will reach us from our nurseries so that we can plant more," the official said. Apart from KMC, an NGO Nature Mates – Nature Club and Rebuilt Bengal- a
consortium of NGOs formed post Amphan have taken up the task of restoration of the trees that have been damaged. "We have been working as a team and has already restored more than 175 trees in the
city with 111 of them in Rabindra Sarobar," said Arjan Basu Roy, secretary of Nature
Mates.
More than 30 trees in Maidan, and over 20 trees at Hyland Park near Mukundapur in EM Bypass, a big
tree near Maniktala ESI Hospital are among the trees that have been successfully transplanted jointly by these
NGOs. "We have started tree restoration work at Subhas Sarovar from today (Wednesday) . There are more than 30 trees that we feel can be restored here," said Roy.
The state government in consultation with experts have decided to adopt a scientific approach in tree plantation. Neem, Bakul,
Jarul, Karamcha, Mahogany, Acacia, Mango, Akashmoni, Subabul are some of the trees that will be planted as these species are less prone to damage in storms.