A tree library displaying specimens of all indigenous species of Bengal will come up at New Town soon. The first entries to the library will be made on Wednesday as a precursor to chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s green programme to be kick-started on August 1 with a rally.
The library, being set up by Hidco in association with the West Bengal Pollution Control Board and the forest department, will come up in phases. The first phase will come up on a 3-acre plot earmarked just south of the Kolkata Gate.
According to the Botanical Survey of India, there are a total of 3,580 plant species in Bengal and these will all be represented in the library.
The idea is to have a collection of trees that will display relevant details, like the Latin name, unique characteristics and importance, at the foot of each tree to make visitors familiar with them.
“Most people can’t link the name of an indigenous tree to what it looks like. Apart from the likes of banyan, peepal or perhaps neem, most people are still confused about how the different trees look. Very few have a clear idea about trees that are indigenous to Bengal, when we perhaps have the largest variety,” said Hidco chairman Debashis Sen.
Apart from the three-acre plot, a portion of the tree library will also be housed inside Smriti Van, a park quite near the plot that was set up so celebrities in the city could plant saplings.
On Wednesday, residents of Snehadiya, an old-age home run by Hidco, will plant saplings to mark the beginning of the tree library. Every sapling will also bear the name of the resident who planted it.
“The forest department has identified trees that have a pollution-curbing effect. We will groom these kinds of trees separately so they can be replanted in boulevards across New Town. We are also going to set up a rubber plantation in a part of the library in phases,” Sen added.
Source: Times of India
