SAMBALPUR: In a bid to increase green cover and protect forest land from encroachment, the Forest department is developing a green belt at Mundoghat under Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) limits.
Informing this, Sambalpur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Santosh Joshi said around 30,000 saplings of 13 different species, including karanja, neem, baula, mango and cashew have been planted on 50 acres of land in Mundoghat. The department has erected fence around the land and undertaken drip irrigation to protect the plants. The department has also dug up a water body at the plantation site to facilitate drip irrigation, he added.
Since Power Channel under Hirakud Dam is flowing close to the plantation site, water can be drawn from it for storing it in the pond round the year. This apart, they have developed staggered trenches on the land to conserve water during monsoon, he said.
The green belt is being developed under Urban Plantation Programme at an estimated cost of one crore rupees. The seedlings were planted on the barren land at Mundoghat during 2015-16 fiscal and the Forest department will take care of the plants for another one year. So far, the survival rate of the plants is 99 per cent and drip irrigation is playing a vital role in protecting the plants, Joshi said.
The department has already dug up a borewell and is also planning to construct concrete platform and sitting arrangement inside the green belt to attract picnickers.
Mundoghat, where the green belt is being developed, is situated near river Mahanadi. At present, one has to travel around 15 km from Sambalpur to reach Mundoghat. However, once work on bridge over river Mahanadi connecting Nelson Mandela Chowk here with Chaunrpur is completed, it is expected to reduce the distance between Sambalpur and Mundoghat by half.
Joshi said the department is planning to develop another green belt on 30 acres of barren land situated near Mundoghat.