About 78 cents of land near Padua High School on the National Highway 66 in the city, which was once used for dumping construction waste, has now been turned into a Miyawaki urban forest. In all, 168 saplings of native tree species have been planted on this land.
Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyasa Kamath and Mayor Premanand Shetty inaugurated this urban forest developed from the fund donated by Syngene Biocon Foundation on Sunday.
Environment activist Jeeth Milan Roach, who was actively involved in developing this new urban forest, said that a large quantity of waste had been dumped on the land. “We started removing the waste in the first week of May. Volunteers from Centre for Integrated Learning also joined. As much as 35 truck loads of waste was removed,” he said.
Mr. Roach said that apart from 168 saplings, 54 creepers and shrubs have been planted. “Creepers and shrubs form an important part of Miyawaki forest,” he said. Planting started 15 days ago, he added.
Addressing the volunteers, Mr. Kamath said that it is a matter of great concern that the green cover in the city has now come down to 10.8%. In two wards in the central part of the city, green cover was below two per cent. Creating a Miyawaki forest, which can be developed in as little as five cents of land, is the way forward in increasing green cover. “We are earnestly working on increasing green cover and avoiding the precarious situation that New Delhi is in now,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra said that nearly 30 empty spaces have been identified for creating Miyawaki forests in the city. Corporate firms will be asked to donate funds for creating these green spaces.
The Mayor said that the first Miyawaki forest came up on the premises of Ramakrishna Mutt. Subsequently, the urban forest was developed near Kuloor Bridge, outside the Zilla Panchayat office and opposite the Press Club. More Miyawaki forests will be developed in phases, he said.
Consultant (HR and CSR) of Syngene Biocon Foundation Ronald Mascarenhas and Nandagopal from the Centre for Integrated Learning also spoke.
