The oxygen library park, which was setup by the Periyar University administration for the benefit of students to receive more oxygen, now attracts more students towards it.
Air and dust pollution have become an important cause of various diseases, not only for human beings but also for other living things.
The world is fighting to reduce carbon footprint to save people from the impact of global warming. Bamboo plays the main role in the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. A grove of bamboo releases 35 % more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees.
Considering these facts, Periyar University in Salem, to create awareness about global warming and to provide a good amount of oxygen for the students on the campus, decided to plant bamboo plants.
Speaking to The Hindu, Periyar University Vice-Chancellor R Jagannathan said, “as I am a former faculty member of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, I know the importance of bamboo. So, we decided to plant bamboo plants and, at the same time, I thought it should also benefit students particularly. So, we decided to plant 100 Bheema Bamboo which can grow in the field for more than 100 years with no need for replanting. We created a walking path in the shape of an 8 and also created a small place for reading which was covered by bamboo, and named it as oxygen library park. Now, students used to walk regularly to breathe more pure oxygen and study in the park,” the Vice-Chancellor added.
A PG student, S Vinothini, said as this park is situated near the university library, we used to get books from the library and read with our friends in this park.
“At first, we do not feel a difference and later we feel reading in the park helps us to get rid of stress and give us a peaceful mind. Now, we used to read regularly in this park,” she added.
The university administration also displayed a board regarding how many litres of oxygen these bamboos will release every year and deployed works to maintain the park.
