Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to plant 10 lakh saplings in the city during this year.
It is really good news for environmentalists who have been complaining of high temperature due to lack of sufficient green cover in the city. Those who want to plant one or many saplings have to download the BBMP Green app. This app is available only on Google Play Store. “We have received requests from public for around 2 lakh saplings. We have already supplied 35,000 saplings to various areas in the city,’’ BBMP Deputy Conservator of Forests A.G. Appu Rao.
The app was launched a month ago and since then, the BBMP has received requests for more than two lakh saplings. The saplings are being grown in five BBMP nurseries around the city. The height of the saplings being distributed varies from one foot to five feet. The officials say that based on the demand, the number of saplings to be grown and distributed can be increased. “There are 15 varieties of saplings at the five nurseries maintained by the BBMP,’’ Rao said.
According to him, the public can select the variety of saplings which they want to plant in their respective areas. “Saplings are being supplied free of cost. Those who want the saplings have to register their name and phone number on the BBMP Green app. It is very simple. One has to select the variety of the sapling and mention the location and submit. The applicant will be informed when he can collect the saplings. One can avail up to 50 saplings,’’ he said.
The challenge before the BBMP and those seeking the saplings is space. In a concretised city, where space is a major problem, the BBMP too is searching for space. According to BBMP, there is no space in CBD areas, Bengaluru south and west. The corporation has identified some pockets in educational institutions, factories, parks, homes, roadsides, vacant plots on the city’s outskirts and properties recovered from encroachment drives.
According to BBMP sources, more requests for saplings come from Bellandur ward. Around 4,000 saplings were supplied to the residents of Bellandur ward.
The varieties of saplings:
Pongamia Pinnata
Swietenia Mahagoni
Terminalia Catappa
Holoptelea Integrifolia
Syzygium Cumini
Emblica Officimalis
Cherry
Bauhinia Racemosa
Michelia Champaca
Jacaranda
Tabebuia Guayacan
Simarouba Glauca
Lagerstroemia Parviflora
Neem
Thespesia Populnea.
