Kolkata shifts focus to roadside green buffers after Amphan- GetBengal story

After Cyclone Amphan, Kolkata lost a massive portion of its greenery, and over 15,000 big trees were uprooted, according to official records. This sparked a big question that is could the city ever recover from such a loss?

For the last four and a half years, that recovery effort has been ongoing. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has taken several steps to restore the city's green cover. But KMC officials now say there's a serious problem, there simply is not enough space left in the city to plant big trees.

That’s why the KMC is now focusing on a new idea that is creating “Green Buffers” along major roads. These are rows of smaller trees, around 4 to 4.5 feet tall, which can still help reduce pollution and increase oxygen levels in the city.

Kolkata is not far behind Delhi when it comes to pollution. So, greening the city has become a major priority. According to botanists in KMC’s Parks and Gardens Department, some parts of Central Kolkata are almost completely without trees. Iconic trees like Krishnachura and Radhachura are also disappearing fast.

Officials say that after Cyclone Aila in 2009, many large trees were lost. Around 50,000 trees were planted each year following that. However, a survey by the State Horticulture Department found that the soil in many parts of Kolkata had become loose, which makes it risky to plant large trees like banyan, mahogany, or peepal, they could fall again in strong winds. Because of this, KMC is now prioritizing Green Buffer zones instead of planting big trees in the city centre.

So far, the KMC has planted about 1.28 lakh trees across different areas of Kolkata. Green buffer zones have already been created along several roads. According to KMC’s Parks Department, if this initiative continues in the right direction, it can play a significant role in reducing urban pollution.