Cyclone Tauktae caused massive ecological destruction Maharashtra and Mumbai bore some of the worst of the high-speed winds which have left the city’s tree cover severely tattered. To restore the city’s greenery, however, the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started a new campaign called ‘Adopt a Tree Pit’ with the aim to involve Mumbai citizens as well as the administration in restoring Mumbai’s ravaged trees by planting more.
The initiative was launched by Vishvas Mote, Assistant Commissioner of the K-West ward in Mumbai, in collaboration with the Make Earth Green Again (MEGA) Foundation. The campaign, called, “Be A Tree Parent - Adopt A Fallen Tree Pit" - encourages individuals to come forward and adopt a pit where trees used to grow before being uprooted by Cyclone Tauktae.
Let's Recover Our Cover! Join the 'Adopt A Fallen Tree Pit' initiative, adopt a tree and help us revive the green cover of Mumbai, which was uprooted by #CycloneTautake.
Contact your ward office for more details.#ReviveMumbaisGreenCover pic.twitter.com/eIdKQQaRqL
— माझी Mumbai, आपली BMC (@mybmc) May 29, 2021
The launch of the campaign was marked by an event that saw the presence of several celebrities such as former actor and politician Hema Malini among others. As part of the launch, a sampling was planted in a pit in the K-ward that had once had 45 trees growing in it.
Film Udyog Se: Hema Malini Inaugurates BMC’s Be A Tree Parent MEG… https://t.co/FfLG22lir6 pic.twitter.com/u0AJP9LvdB— rajendra kandpal (@rajendrakandpal) May 30, 2021
According to Mote, the K Ward alone had lost 350 trees in the cyclone while the whole of Mumbai lost about 2,000 trees that were uprooted as a result of the gusty winds that hit the city last week, sending waves from the Arabian Sea crashing into the Gateway of India and the Taj Hotel.
Among the trees to be planted as part of the initiative include tamhan, jamun, badam and other flowering and native species, Times of India reported.
Not just trees, cyclone Tauktae caused severe property damage across Maharashtra. In Thane, rains due to the cyclone caused damage to over 2,100 houses, Collector Rajesh Narvekar said last Friday. About 25 houses were completely destroyed, of which 22 were pucca dwellings, most of them in Ambernath, and the total loss on this account was in the range of Rs 24 lakh, he said.
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