Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation to buy special machines to transplant trees

  • | Tuesday | 8th January, 2019

If things go according to plan, the city will get its first tree spade this year.“Bhubaneswar is now a Smart City. A number of trees will be felled in the process, resulting in loss of greenery. At present, such machines are in use in cities such as Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata.Before the civic body, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) had adopted a process to transplant trees in the city but that was more conventional. In this method, it takes a day to translocate one tree; with the help of the tree spade, at least six trees can be replanted in a day.“We are deliberating on the proposal. It consists of a number of blades that uproot a tree by digging into the ground.

BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to procure tree-transplanting machines or tree spades that will help transplant big trees felled in different parts of the state capital for implementation of development projects.A proposal in this regard was submitted by the execution, recreation and culture standing committee of the civic body to the mayor last month, sources said. If things go according to plan, the city will get its first tree spade this year.“Bhubaneswar is now a Smart City. Several infrastructure-related projects are on now. A number of trees will be felled in the process, resulting in loss of greenery. We have sought the procurement of the machines to mitigate the damage caused to the environment,” said a member of the committee.A tree spade is a machine that transplants large plants from one site to another. It consists of a number of blades that uproot a tree by digging into the ground. It then lifts the tree, roots and all, and helps replant it at a new site. At present, such machines are in use in cities such as Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata.Before the civic body, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) had adopted a process to transplant trees in the city but that was more conventional. The BDA’s method relies on getting trained labourers to dig up the root system and lifting the trees with the help of a crane for replanting at another site. In this method, it takes a day to translocate one tree; with the help of the tree spade, at least six trees can be replanted in a day.“We are deliberating on the proposal. Once the cost and other factors get approved, we will procure the machines,” said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.In the recent past, the authorities have cut down a number of trees for several projects. As far as fresh plantation is concerned, the civic body has not planted a single tree in the past one year, according to a statement available on the official website of the BMC.“We are witnessing first-hand the destruction caused by global warming . Climate change is at its peak, simply because we are not making any effort to save our environment. The green cover is getting depleted rapidly. If this continues, there will be more calamities. I hope the civic body’s plan will work,” said social activist Alok Kar.

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