Coimbatore:
Heeding to a call on social media, as many as 200 people from all walks of life came together on the bund encircling the Kolarampathi lake near Vedapatti on Sunday morning to plant about 5,000 palmyra palm seeds there.
The drive was organised by NGO Kovai Kulangal Pathukappu Amaippu, which has been cleaning the local lakes. More than 50 organisations including colleges, civil groups, youth associations and environmental organisations took part in the drive ‘Panaithinai Tiruvizha’.
Palm trees will strengthen the bunds of the water bodies and also help conserve ground water, the organisers said. The drive will also help revive the dwindling number of palmyra, the state’s official tree.
The NGO had collected about 1.10lakh palmyra palm seeds last month for the mass planting drive. “We got the seeds from Dharapuram, Tiruchengode, Sangagiri, Gobichettipalayam and Nagapattinam. We were initially planning to sow the seeds across the district on the same day. But due to the rain, we have been sowing them in various places for the last one week,” said DK Kanagaraj, a volunteer.
Organiser of Kovai Kulangal Pathukappu Amaippu R Manikandan said they had been sowing palmyra seeds near the water bodies they had been cleaning, such as Sottaiyaandi Kuttai, Ganganarayana Samuthiram, Vellalore lake and Kuniyamuthur Vaikkal. “About 20% of the seeds have sprouted. Of the one lakh seeds we had sown under the drive, even if 10% grow up to be trees, it would add 10,000 trees to the existing palm tree population,” he told TOI.
Forest department officials from ranges such as Coimbatore, Boluvampatti and Periyanaickenpalayam are also sowing palmyra palm seeds in the ranges, the organisers said. “The seeds have to be sown in six-inch deep pits. They will sprout in rain. The plants don’t need much care. Palmyra wood is used as fuel in brick kilns. We hope this drive will create awareness among people about the trees,” said Manikandan.
But not all of them had seen the message on social media. Sanjay, a Class X student, who was sowing the seeds along with his friends, said his tuition teacher had informed him about the drive. Narendran, a goldsmith, decided to lend a hand after he was told by his friends.
