LUDHIANA: Rohit Mehra, Additional Commissioner in the Income Tax Department, has used 70 tonnes of waste plastic bottles as pots for creating vertical gardens in Ludhiana in an attempt to reduce air pollution.
Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Mehra said, "Using at least 70 tonnes of waste plastic bottles as pots, we have set up more than 500 vertical gardens at public places."
When asked how this idea came to his mind, Mehra explained, "Four years ago, my child told me that the school had declared holidays due to high air pollution. This set me thinking. wondered why we could not even provide clean air to our children. The push came from there."
Mehra said he has set-up vertical gardens in schools, colleges, gurudwaras, churches, police stations, government offices and railway stations. "It is a cost-effective and space-efficient solution for urban greenery. The vertical gardens also save the environment as you reuse plastic wastes as pots. Thanks to drip irrigation, these gardens save 92 per cent water," added Mehra.
On the issue of improving air quality, Mehra said, "A scientist from Punjab Agricultural University had conducted a study in the areas where there is a vertical garden and found 75 per cent reduction in pollution as per the air quality index (AQI) of the city."
Mehra said the main objective of establishing these gardens is to convey the message to people so that they replicate the same in their homes. Mehra is popular as the 'Green Man' in Ludhiana.