A small stretch of squalid Calcutta is blooming. White and pink and mauve. The stretch of the Bypass in front of the Salt Lake stadium gate provides a sight for sore eyes — a delightful row of flowering shrubs on the boulevard.
The surprise brush with beauty is thanks to the Calcutta Greening project undertaken by the state forest directorate. “The project, started in 2006, has been expanded in scope last year and renamed Calcutta Greening and Landscaping. Plantations on avenues, median boulevards and city forests are all part of the project,” says Saurabh Chaudhuri, the conservator of forests (parks and gardens circle).
The flowers chosen for the Bypass boulevard, he explains, are red, white and pink varieties of Lagerstroemia indica (purus). Purus is a seasonal plant that flowers from March to October. For foliage, three dwarf varieties of Ficus (a non-flowering genus) have been planted.
The good news is that the initiative is not restricted to this 2km stretch. “We are covering the boulevard from Hyatt to the ITC hotel (The Sonar) crossing. Work has started on the second phase too — from No. 4 bridge in Park Circus to Science City. We will also start cleaning up both sides of the Bypass from Ruby Hospital to the Science City connector. We plan to plant karabi there.”
Karabi is the preferred plant there as it is hardy and is inappropriate as fodder. “This stretch faces the problem of cows grazing as there are semi-urban areas like Panchannagram close by,” adds Nilanjan Mallik, the deputy conservator of forests, urban recreation forestry.
The Rashbehari connector to the Bypass would have blossomed by now had it not been for the callousness of the civic body, rues Chaudhuri.
“People would have enjoyed the view on the Rashbehari connector as we had planted the same flowering plants as on the Bypass boulevard. But when the Calcutta Municipal Corporation dug up one side of the road, the debris was dumped on the boulevard, killing the plants. It takes us about three years to rear a plant to that size but it takes barely a month to kill it if it continues to be crushed under such a weight,” he added.
There are thorns aplenty for the bouquet that the Calcutta Greening and Landscaping initiative is hoping to gift the city. A high percentage of suspended particulate matter in the air poses a threat to survival of any tree — or citizen. But the government has only ducked court deadlines in the fight against vehicular foul fumes and the Opposition has closed ranks with the Reds on this green matter. So, the city today is a gas chamber with little respite for its lungs.
“All green patches act as a carbon sink. So increasing the tree cover is the only way of countering the city’s pollution. Sometimes, we rent a water tanker from the municipality to spray on the leaves,” says Mallik.
“Moreover, the Bypass boulevard was filled with debris from landfills, because of which plants fail to penetrate their roots to the foundation soil. So they get uprooted easily. Jaywalkers also trample on the plants and slum-dwellers use the shrubs as clotheslines,” points out Sukumar Seth, the conservator of forests, development circle.
Amid the smoke-laden gloom, the Calcutta Greening and Landscaping project is planning the biggest display of flower power in Rajarhat.
“We are working in consultation with Hudco there. Avenue plantation has already started along the roads,” says Chaudhuri. Putranjiva, bokul, chhatim and karabi are the species of choice as their crown is not elaborate, neither do they grow tall.
Once construction work is over, plantation will start on the boulevard with dwarf varieties of Radhachura and Krishnachura. The forest directorate is confident of success in Rajarhat as a proper roadmap is in place. “So many avenue trees had to be chopped off on the Bypass when the road was widened,” recalls Mallik. Now, it will at least have some flowers.