Charanjit Singh Teja Amritsar, May 21 The General Assembly of the United Nations had passed a resolution in 1992 to observe the International Day for Biological Diversity and its objective is to increase understanding and awareness on the issue. As the world is showing concerns towards preserving biodiversity, the city is gradually losing its tress. The holy city had a variety of trees in Ram Bagh, planted by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. There are roads, which were named after the trees due to its diversification and these were planted during the British era. Unplanned development in the past decades has ruined the biodiversity of the city. Moreover, there were a large number of native trees around the Golden Temple’s parikarama. Now, only a few ‘ber’ (jujube) trees are left. “There are several plants, the names of which have been mentioned in the Guru Granth Sahib and Sikh history. Persevering tree diversity is also important to understand the history,” said Sarbjit Singh, a religious preacher. Gunbir Singh, president, Dilbir Foundation, who had launched a campaign to identify and name species of ancient trees in Ram Bagh Garden last year, said the International Day for Biological Diversity provided an opportunity to them to protect and increase the number of native trees. “Amritsar has traditionally been a city of gardens with abundant gardens. Its avenues and roads are named after fruits and eco-connotations. Despite that, the green belt of the city has been disturbed in the name of development. Concrete jungles have replaced banyan, peepal, jamun and mango trees”, Gunbir added. Dr Balwinder Singh Lakhewali, a renowned landscapist, said, “There are around 52 species of traditional trees in Punjab. Of these, nearly 20 species are endangered. People prefer planting foreign trees such as palms and other coastal trees these days. But our native trees, which possess medicinal values, are also habitat for diverse bird species. These have useful wood and beautiful flowers. These trees are being ignored.” Dilbir Foundation has been projecting the need for lining of roads and all government lands with fruit trees. It asserts that the move can become a source of revenue generation.

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