Srirangapattana, a town of great historical and religious significance attracts thousands of visitors every day. In the recent years since the IT boom, the number of visitors has increased exponentially. The sad part about this place though is the lack of greenery it has in spite of being on the banks of the river Kaveri. This seems very odd at first thought. So, I went to the place to find out the exact reason behind this discrepancy.
Most important reason cited by the local people for the lack of trees is soil condition. The soil seems to be hostile for any sort of vegetation and the survival rate is a bare minimum. The person who manages the Jain temple on the road to Sri Ranganathaswamy temple says: "I tried to plant some flowering plants and trees in front of the temple. The soil sucked up all the water and the plants did not survive." His reasoning was that hundreds of years of fort dust, ash and even traces of the old gun-powder had rendered the soil useless.
In some other sorrounding places such as Karighatta, the soil seemed very rocky and it requires scientific planting to turn it green. A soil expert or tree expert should be able to solve the riddle. Yet, the immediate vicinity of the Karighatta temple can be planted with some trees.
A few visitors to this temple have donated great amounts to build some visitor shelters such as this:
A "vriksha archane" if made available at this temple would definitely help plant a few trees in the vicinity. Water would also be available here since a canal flows nearby and water is supplied to this temple. The only issue here is the soil which if studied scientifically can turn this place green.
Most important reason cited by the local people for the lack of trees is soil condition. The soil seems to be hostile for any sort of vegetation and the survival rate is a bare minimum. The person who manages the Jain temple on the road to Sri Ranganathaswamy temple says: "I tried to plant some flowering plants and trees in front of the temple. The soil sucked up all the water and the plants did not survive." His reasoning was that hundreds of years of fort dust, ash and even traces of the old gun-powder had rendered the soil useless.
In some other sorrounding places such as Karighatta, the soil seemed very rocky and it requires scientific planting to turn it green. A soil expert or tree expert should be able to solve the riddle. Yet, the immediate vicinity of the Karighatta temple can be planted with some trees.
A few visitors to this temple have donated great amounts to build some visitor shelters such as this:
A "vriksha archane" if made available at this temple would definitely help plant a few trees in the vicinity. Water would also be available here since a canal flows nearby and water is supplied to this temple. The only issue here is the soil which if studied scientifically can turn this place green.
1 comment:
Why there is so many postings about planting tress these days?
Places without trees is not unfamiliar to some of us who are say past the middle age.
The pictures show a dry land which
perhaps remained so tens of decades. If saplings are planted and watered, the soil would be dry very soon again and again, and the saplings will wither away.
With car numbers multiplying in geometric progression like its people, in a country like India the empty spaces would soon be put to use!
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