Drive to cool down Kolhapur city by letting trees ‘breathe free’

Kolhapur: A campaign titled ‘Let the Trees Breathe Freely' started on Monday in the city.The aim of this campaign, initiated by the Azad Hind Nature Army, is to reduce the city's maximum temperature from 41°C to 36°C. Cement, concrete, and tar foundations laid around plants and trees, which hamper their growth, will be removed as part of this campaign. Rahul Magdum, the founder of the Azad Hind Nature Army, said, "Through this initiative, we plan to remove the cement concrete foundation laid around five lakh trees across Maharashtra."Guardian minister Prakash Abitkar, deputy collector Shakti Kadam, administrator of Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) K Manjulekshmi, additional commissioner Rahul Rokade, city engineer Netradeep Sarnobat, water supply engineer Harshjit Ghatge, Karvir range forest officer Ramesh Kamble, ecologist Suhas Vaingankar, and others attended the event organised at Tararani garden.Abitkar said, "Humans can speak about their problems, but trees cannot. The concept of ‘Let the Trees Breathe Freely' is very important. We, as part of govt, will support this initiative. Efforts will also be made to increase the groundwater level through this campaign. The balance in nature is getting affected, which is why we are experiencing heatwave-like conditions, like in Marathwada, in Kolhapur as well."The groundwater level in Kolhapur has decreased by over 5-6 feet, which is not a good sign. "We will free the trees of cement and tar so that the roots can transfer rainwater into the ground. Over 2.5 lakh litres of rainwater can recharge the groundwater level every year. Putting cement, concrete, or tar hampers the growth of trees, resulting in their premature death," added Magdum.