Students of Nitte (Deemed to be University) counting trees at Kadri Park in Mangaluru on Sunday, May 21, 2023. Photo Credit: HS Manjunath
Students of Nitte (Deemed to be University) counting trees at Kadri Park in Mangaluru on Sunday, May 21, 2023. Photo Credit: HS Manjunath
Expressing the need for more lung spaces in the fast-growing Mangaluru city, Deputy Conservator of Forests YK Dinesh Kumar on Sunday said those who create and maintain lung spaces on their land should be identified And they should be encouraged.
Speaking at the formal inauguration of the NITTEE (Deemed to be University) sponsored urban tree count exercise, Mr. Kumar said that every ward in Mangaluru needs a lung space. “Qadri Park is a huge lung space and it serves this (Qadri) area. There should be more such lung spaces in the city,” he said.
By analyzing images on Google, urban planner S. Referring to a recent study conducted by Sangeetha, Mr. Kumar said that it is a matter of grave concern that some busy areas like Bandar and Humpankatta have practically zero green cover. Low or near absence of green cover has serious consequences. He said the problem of drinking water and the significant increase in forest fires in Dakshina Kannada this year are some of the consequences of the reduction in green cover.
Nitte Vice-Chancellor Satish Kumar Bhandari said that indiscriminate urbanization is causing more damage to Mangaluru. “We are polluting our natural resources for our greed,” he said. Appreciating the initiative of NEET University Center for Science Education and Research (NUCSER) to count urban trees, Dr. Bhandari said that counting trees should be a continuous exercise. It should be organized like Swachh Mangaluru initiative of Ramakrishna Mission by involving cross section of society in protecting and conserving natural resources.
Suryanarayana Velnati, chief executive officer of the Mangaluru Special Economic Zone, and BR Ravi, environment officer of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, also spoke.
NUCSER Deputy Director Smita Hegde said the counting of trees began in January. “We’re seeing roadside trees in the city,” she said. So far they have studied roadside trees in Kadri, Lalbagh, Falnir, Balmatta, Hampankatta and Shivbagh. Road side trees will be geotagged in all 60 wards. “We plan to submit a report by June 5,” she said.
Besides students from various institutes of NITTE, Ms Hegde said the exercise included students from institutes such as St. Joseph’s Engineering College, Alvas Institute of Engineering and Technology and Srinivas Institute of Technology. Ms. Hegde said tree planter Jeet Milan Roche and his group of tree planters were also involved.