Ground realities reveal hollowness of plantation claims

KANPUR: Though the civic officials claim to have developed 25 green belts in the city, the roadsides and dividers still are devoid of plants.
The officials say that they had planted hundreds of saplings on dividers and alongside roads in 2009 for promoting urban forestry under public-private partnership model to increase the city's green cover. Whether it is GT Road or Gumti Road, the dividers wear a barren look.
The local bodies are not even bothered about the monitoring and maintenance of the planted saplings. Going by the data provided by the forest department, 4,800 saplings were planted in 2008 when there was no fixed target.
And in 2009, 31,059 saplings were planted near Ganga barrage, Bajrang Chauraha, in Yashodha Nagar and on Kanpur-Hamirpur Marg.
The poor condition of urban forestry can be gauged from the fact that the officials are unaware of the names of the saplings planted along the road sides and on dividers.
The officials simply pass the buck to other departments and blame the infrastructure of the dividers.
Moreover, those plants which have attained normal growth are dying due to increased level of air pollution.
The city ranks seventh among the most polluted cities of the world. There is a dire need to improve greenery along the roads.
Certain species of plants are more tolerant to pollutants and thus can be planted along the roads and on dividers.
According to S K Saxena, forest conservator at Forest Research Institute, said, "Plants like bougainvillea and cassiagluaca are less affected by the pollutants released by the automobiles. There is a need to plant such trees which can absorb harmful gases and turn them into metabolites through photosynthesis."
According to surveys and studies conducted, evergreen trees with simple leaves having rough and hairy surfaces are efficient dust collectors.
In terrestrial species of plants, the enormous surface area of expanded leaves acts as a natural sink for pollutants, especially the gaseous ones. A gaseous pollutant on entering the leaves through stomata, gets converted into a less toxic state.
"Since ethylene is a major product of auto exhaust and is fifty times more phototoxic than other air pollutants, it contributes to the formation of photochemical oxidants which affect the tolerance index of plants," said O P Dixit, forest ranger at FRI.
He added, "These pollutants affect the plant's growth, photosynthesis and reproduction. Smog and dust reduce the amount of light reaching the leaf by clogging the stomata. It reduces the carbon dioxide intake which in turn affects the photosynthesis rate."
Therefore, the field trials conducted by silviculturist of FRI have revealed that plants like ficus, acaciaare are resistant to air pollutants like oxides of sulphur, SPM (suspended particulate matter) and flyash, hence these species are recommended for planting along roads.