Beautification of Rabindra Sarobar: KMDA to ink MoU
Kolkata: Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) will sign an MoU with state Food Processing Industries & Horticulture (FPI&H) department on Tuesday for a comprehensive beautification and greening of Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar. The event will be graced by state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Chandrima Bhattacharjee and state FPI& H minister Subrata Saha. Bhattacharjee happens to be the Chairman of KMDA which is the custodian of both the two water bodies located in two parts of the city.
"The augmentation of the green cover will be an integral part of the beautification. The state Horticulture department has expertise on plants and their upkeep. So we are taking their assistance. It will be a comprehensive beautification project and the period of the MoU will be valid for 7 years," Bhattacharjee said. KMDA has already formed a seven-member sub-committee headed by Professor Krishnendu Acharya of the Botany department of Calcutta University for a planned beautification of both the waterbodies.
"The experts in our sub-committee and those from the Horticulture department will work in close coordination and take up greening in a planned manner which will ensure long term sustenance," a senior KMDA official said. KMDA mulls to create 16 specific zones with a variety of plants on the bank of Rabindra Sarobar that will include a medicinal garden, a sapling zone, a state fruit zone, a state tree zone, panchabati zone, Dye Garden etc. The Horticulture department will help KMDA in procurement of saplings and provide necessary guidance for their upkeep.
KMDA will provide space for temporary kiosks where the department will be able to sell their various products.
The sub-committee also has experts from the Zoology department and representative from West Bengal Biodiversity Board as the conservation of the biodiversity of Rabindra Sarobar assumes utmost importance.
"We will have to carry out dredging 10-12 feet along the banks of the Lake to ensure that the aquatic creatures and other fauna inhabiting the islands of Rabindra Sarobar have the best of living conditions," the KMDA official said.
KMDA also ensures that the rowing clubs follow proper sewerage and drainage pattern to prevent water pollution of the Sarobar. Curbing pollution of the two waterbodies is on the priority list of the state government.
