COIMBATORE: With high summer temperatures blazing Coimbatore, city denizens have realised the need for more green cover. As the daytime temperature is reportedly hovering around 40 degrees Celsius making life miserable, calls for tree planting have gone up.
The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) had earlier announced to increase the green cover of the city by creating Miyawaki forests.
As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) reports, Coimbatore city recorded a day time temperature of 40 degrees Celsius last week, making it the highest recorded summer heat in the past two decades.
Environmentalists and social activists have pointed out that a decrease in the green cover and the failure to plant more trees in recent years have resulted in a spike in temperature levels. In view of this, the civic body announced various projects last year to increase the green cover of the city.
The CCMC had announced afforestation works will be carried out in 100 places across the city by planting 1 lakh trees. However, the civic body failed miserably and didn’t implement any of the projects to bring respite from the summer heat.
R Manikandan, environmental activist and coordinator of the Kovai Kulangal Padhukappu Amaipu, told TNIE, “The CCMC had planned 75 Miyawaki forests across the city. Out of the 75, our team has created about eight Miyawaki forests. The remaining ones have been created and maintained by a few other NGOs. But no palm trees have been planted on the banks of the lakes or any water bodies in the city so far by the civic body.”
Environmentalists said the civic body didn’t take any steps to implement the project to plant 1 lakh trees of native species in 100 places across the city. Also, not even a single palm tree was planted in the past year. Tree plantation is the need of the hour, they said.
CCMC Commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran said, “The announcements made last year were not implemented due to some issues. We have been retrieving a few Open Space Reserved (OSR) sites across the city now. Once the elections are over, we shall be planting trees and we will be creating Miyawaki forests on those lands.”