Mangaluru: Forest Department plants 6,000 trees

Mangaluru: The Forest Department is ramping up the green cover in and around the city and has already planted 6,000 saplings. About 2,000 of these are fruit-bearing.

The Forest Department plants saplings throughout the district at the beginning of the rainy season every year. This time the department has planted saplings on the divider and on the side of the national highway about 25 kilometres from the city.

The saplings planted include many varieties of fruit-bearing trees such as jackfruit, blueberries, renja etc.

The department has also undertaken this project to ensure that the trees are helpful even to birds and animals along with the public.

Speaking to Udayavani, Mangaluru RFO R Sridhar said that the Department will be looking after the saplings for the next two years.

Nitte Deemed University had conducted a survey in 2016 on the green cover in the city. Its study had revealed that there are fewer trees in Mangaluru port and Kudroli wards. Taking this seriously, the Forest Department decided to prioritize the greening of the city.

In the Dakshina Kannada district, with about 1,400 hectares of area under it, the department has planted saplings of more than 6 lakh varieties of trees. The Department is planning to further plant trees of various varieties unique to the Western Ghats in the district. The plants will be managed by the department for three years.

The Deputy Conservator of Forests of Dakshina Kannada district Karikalan has stated that they have joined hands with many nature lovers in the district and in the next few years more flowering plants from the Ghats will be brought in to be planted in the district and city to improve its green cover.