Nalin Rai
CITIZENS OF LUDHIANA TAKE IT IN THEIR HANDS TO INITIATE ACTION TO CHANGE THE TAG OF BEING THE MOST POLLUTED CITY IN INDIA.
While for the authorities it may not have ranked and could have been another statistic, for the residents of Ludhiana, it must have been a sharp jab in the heart to be painted as the most polluted city in India according to the WHO Report of 2011. Ludhiana did fight back, and on 20th July 2014 it staked a claim in the Guinness book of World records for planting 100,000 trees throughout the city in one hour from 8am – 9 am.
There were apprehensions in certain quarters that the feat might not be achieved, but when the count was made in the evening, it was found that the target was overhauled by more than 50%, i.e. at the final count Ludhiana was able to plant 150,000 trees all over the city. It was an effort in which each and every citizen participated, and logistics from various government departments contributed to make this happen.
Christened as Earth Hour, the initiative saw citizens venturing out of their homes with buckets and small digging instruments to contribute in their own small way to facilitate the makeover of the city from a barren landscape dotted by industrial chimnies and buildings, to perhaps an oasis of greenery in the near future. Age was not a deterant as even octagenarians stepped out to be a part of this drive for the sake of the city. Famous Punjabi poet Shiv Kumar Batalvi would have been mightily pleased with this effort as he had written about the virtue of the trees: kuch rukh lagde putt mainu, kuch lagde maanva; kuch dheyan putt warge; kuch vaang bhraavan i.e. trees have a symbiotic relationship with me, some are like my sons, some like my mother, some like daughters and some are like brothers. Indeed, this must have been the guiding spirit for the feat that citizens of Ludhiana strived to achieve.
Meticulous planning was made to find out the space and special diggers were put into service as it would not have been possible to manually dig more than a lakh pits to facilitate plantation of sapplings in such large numbers. The saplings chosen were predominantly of Burma Dek tree, which has been used extensively in agro-forestry, and is a local variety that is used extensively by the farmers in the rural areas on the bunds for plantation. Burma Dek grows quite fast, and to attain green cover, it was a good option chosen for the occasion.
While the first hurdle has been crossed and Ludhiana has taken baby steps forward to make its city green, a real challenge for the city would be to see if all the sapplings that have been planted survive and tide over the teething trouble of first year. Even if 50% of the sapplings that have been planted survive, within a few years, perceptible change in environment of the city would be clearly visible for the citizens. The notorious tag of being the most polluted city of India could indeed become a thing of the past. But to attain that, residents would have to monitor the sapplings that they have planted and water them until the rain arrive, or else they will wilt away and along with the spirit of the city. Sambhav should not become Asambhav again.
