Acute water shortage and lack of maintenance has resulted in saplings drying up in Bangalore
The saplings which have been planted by BBMP are drying up, owing to less watering. BBMP planted almost one lakh saplings last year in all the eight zones of the city. The BBMP gave tenders to contractors who take charge of their maintenance. It is upto the contractors who are entrusted with the responsibility of watering the plants.
The contractors take use own tankers and labourers for the maintainance of the saplings. . BBMP sayid that the plants get watered five or six times in a span of eight months. . A single sapling needs almost 50 liters of water on an average.
Environmentalist Ullas Kumar who is also the member of NGO Eco Watch said “Trees have to be taken care like a child at least for two rainy season.Since we are extracting too many ground water the water availability for a sapling is like minimum 300 to 1000 feet so the plants dry out.”
BBMP said that, the planting of a single sapling costs around Rs. 300 to Rs. 350 which includes all other expenses. . Some plants need tree guards which costs around an additionalamount of Rs. 250.
Experts suggest that they involve the local community to help maintain the saplings. Suresh Hegdeker another environmentalist added that they need to choose the right species in the right place.He added that they should use public spaces for planting trees, for example play grounds, and other public spaces.. Also BBMP is planning to distribute nine lakh saplings this year which may be challenging since the city has been facing shortage of water.
