It’s been called the garden city of India. If Jaipur is considered the pink city, Mumbai- the hub of dreams and, Delhi- the political power corridor of the country, then Bangalore is both the hub of the IT industry and a zone of tranquillity.
With its easy-going charm and laidback vibe, Bangalore is often considered to be India’s nonchalant charisma. There’s hardly a dull day in Bangalore- where simplicity and dreams combine to furnish a great life.
Truth be told, it may be easy to run down other metropolitan cities of India, some owing to being over-crowded, other’s for a rising spate of crime, but one hardly hears anything stifling or overly critical about Bangalore that may make the city lose its charm.
Now, there’s such a positive and vibrant news from Bangalore that it will once again give everyone- writers, intrepid travellers, foodies, restaurant owners, entrepreneurs, children, teachers and others- a great reason to be proud of the ‘Garden city.’ It appears that the city renowned for a tantalising taste of coffee and being home to Indian cricket’s ‘Wall’ is also home to 11,000 acres of forest area. You read this right and possibly, you are sporting a wide-eyed smile at this time- aren’t you!
The official news confirmed by none other than the Deputy Conservator of Forest, Ms Dipika Bajpai, in Bengaluru submits that there’s a tremendous spread of green forest cover in the city. This is especially exciting and acts as a harbinger of hope particularly at a time where the city is jostling with a strong timber lobby as well as evidencing a soaring rise in Real Estate.
From a fundamental standpoint, any millennial city in this part of the 21st century attempts to balance two important pivots in its journey: growth and sustainability. An imbalance resulting in propagation and unchecked growth of either is destined to become a cause of disarray. Thankfully, at a time where much of the world’s concern is focused on the rising aspect of climate change, thanks to global warming, the news from Bangalore provides a blanket of faith amid troubling times.
But where there is progress, there’s ought to be a sense of responsibility on the part of the denizens to uphold the culture of positivity; to continue embracing the positive change, isn’t it?
Upon sharing the fantastic news surrounding Bangalore’s immense density of green, the Deputy Conservator of Forest, Ms Bajpai has also urged the citizens of the city to be active and help the administration to keep the city green. To work toward ensuring cleanliness and maintaining a sense of hygiene, is, after all, a collective responsibility of the citizens as well as the civic authorities (and bodies). It shouldn’t, therefore, happen that on receiving the proud news about the green forest cover the city’s residents get lackadaisical.
Here are some interesting details about the status of the urban forests in Bangalore.
As many as 35 Forest blocks around the city have been identified. These are spread over a total land area of approximately 11,000 acres- a massive size, isn’t it? This is particularly heart-warming as it indicates Bangalore’s green cover against a disturbing backdrop of much of the countries’ large-sized, urban centres being eaten up by a rapid rate of urbanisation.
The last that the forest blocks of the city were notified, happened a while back; during 1932 and by the Maharaja of Mysore. But that told, there does seem to be a growing problem in Bangalore. And it isn’t just the rising rate of vehicular traffic causing congestion in different areas of the Karnataka capital.
The city continues to battle a rampant rate of rising encroachment, which tends to act as an eyesore. But in the midst of the gathering storm- there is this moment of reprieve. And what can be better other than noting that, today, Bangalore has about 8000 acres of land that continues to have the character of an urban forest? The city’s authorities are mindful of the need to increase the stronghold of greenery in the periphery and hence the following measure is taken repeatedly.
Every year, the city plants about 2,00,000 saplings around Bangalore and a process of casualty replacement is also undertaken (because the same could be lost due to external factors of weather, people etc).