One person needs seven trees to get the required supply of oxygen, but in Bengaluru, it’s quite the opposite, where one tree is shared by seven persons.
Indian Institute of Science (IISc) professor T V Ramachandra says, “Bengaluru has 14.78 lakh trees or one tree for seven persons, which is inadequate even to remove respiratory carbon.’’ Speaking at the ‘Mara Habba’ (Tree Festival) organised by Jhatkaa.org, a campaigning organisation here on Saturday, the professor said: “Healthy environment in urban areas necessitates at least 33% green space that ensures that there are 1.15 trees per person. Creation of a mini forest of native species in each ward would help in bringing back the lost glory of the garden city and would help in mitigating the impact of unplanned urbanisation of the last four decades.”
Singer and actor Vasundhara Das shared her experience of growing up in the city. She expressed her concern over trees being chopped. She recalled how a 300-year-old tree was uprooted to create parking space near Richmond Circle.
“Though there were protests, citizens could not save the tree. Every citizen must make a small contribution in saving the city’s green cover by actively interacting with the area’s representatives and question them about their involvement in increasing the tree count,” she added.
‘Mara Habba’ was organised to create awareness among citizens about the depleting green cover in the city and how they could get involved in increasing the number of trees. Jhatkaa has asked people to join a signature campaign on its website www.jhatkaa.org or give a missed call to 7676022555 to ask the BBMP to form greening committees across the city to monitor the green cover.