Around this time last year, the ground situated right behind the Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh was full of waste and garbage. It used to stink so much that people could not even enter it. The ground was being used as a dumping area by the locals. But one year later, the ground stands completely transformed. It has been turned into a lust green patch with thousands of plants growing and flowers blooming all around.
The credit for such stupendous work goes to IFS officers, Dr. Abdul Qayum, Debendra Dalai and the whole forest department of Chandigarh as they not only conceived this idea but also realized it on the ground in less than a year’s time.
RESTORATION OF THE DUMPING GROUND
In an exclusive interview with Indian Masterminds, Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) Chandigarh, Dr. Abdul Qayum recalled, “In the year 2019, it came to our notice that a particular area behind the PGI Punjab Engineering College had become a sort of a dumping ground and people of the nearby localities were misusing it. We visited the site and the ground was so smelly that it was impossible to enter it. It was them we planned to revamp it into a clean and green area.”
The forest department personnel started with the mining process and deployed a person who could avoid people from throwing the waste in the ground. “We also instructed the local residents that no waste is allowed to be dumped in the ground and strict action will be taken against the offenders. After the completion of the cleaning process and with the arrival of monsoon, we planted around 6,000 plants of different varieties in the area,” he added.
The mixed species of saplings are planted in a way that it would add up in the beatification of the area. The officer said that flowering plants were planted at the edges whereas fruit-bearing plants like mangoes, Jamun, amla, etc. were planted at the inner part of the ground. The area was also dominated by monkeys which is also one of the reasons for planting fruits in the ground.
UNUSUAL RESULTS IN JUST A YEAR
The plantation drive launched in July 2020, has already been showing results. The officer said, “The soil is exceptionally fertile here. A sapling that was planted just a year back has grown into a tree. I visited the site recently and found that it has actually turned into a mini forest.”
Speaking about the various benefits it brings in, Dr. Abdul said, “This transformation has also brought a different look to the place and people love to visit it. By transforming this ground we have also generated an oxygen forest or an oxy-park in the area which would benefit the people in many ways and with plantation of indigenous species the local biodiversity has also gone up.”
Dr. Abdul Qayum has been creating a lot of green patches in the city. He has not only converted this dumping ground into a lush green area but is transforming other discarded areas in the city under the Van Mahotsav which was being observed in the first week of July. The officer with the help of other paramilitary forces has done got 20,000 saplings planted during the past one week only. At a time when rapid industrialization and urbanization is resulting in steep depletion of green cover in the country, Dr. Qayum’s feat stands out as a shiny armour in darkness.
