Slender and flexible trees that don’t have large canopies and are less likely to break branches or tip over during a storm are going to be planted in New Town as part of an avenue plantation drive, a senior official of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) said on Thursday.
Uprooted trees sprawled across roads are a common sight after every thunderstorm in Kolkata. Branches also break off easily during windy conditions from trees, including krishnachura, radhachura and sirish. Such trees have large and heavy canopies and are often seen on median dividers and sidewalks across Kolkata.
Large canopies make trees more prone to being uprooted and are best avoided for roadside plantations, say experts.
The authorities in New Town have refrained from planting such trees during plantation drives. The fresh plantation drive will focus more on places in Action Area III.
According to a senior NKDA official, more than 30,000 trees will be planted on median dividers.
The NKDA, which provides civic services in New Town, is also in charge of plantation and maintaining gardens.
The trees selected for the drive include palm, coconut, cherry blossom and rosy trumpet. For the beautification of sidewalks, the NKDA has chosen the fox tail plant and other shrubs.
Unregulated construction work, the increasing volume of traffic and temporary stalls selling fast food are among the top contributors to air pollution in New Town.
Experts have recommended more green patches for the burgeoning township, the NKDA official said.
In Kolkata, trees with large canopies that are common along roads also block light from streetlamps.
The New Town saplings will be sourced from the Tall Tree Nursery, jointly run by Hidco and The Wasteland Corporation in New Town’s Action Area I.
Apart from planting slender trees along the dividers, the NKDA will also plant around 10,000 fruit-bearing trees of a variety of resilient species that grow easily.
Such trees include guava, mango, blackberry and papaya among others.
These trees will be planted in parks and vacant plots that have been identified to be left free from construction as green patches.
“Fruit-bearing trees attract many birds and boost the fauna of a place. The idea is to have a blend of a variety of trees. Avenue plantation requires a scientific approach to ensure that the trees neither topple nor break or obstruct the motorists’ vision,” the official added.