A group of residents’ welfare associations and environmental activists have come together to make Velachery a green locality.
The members, under the Green Velachery project, have begun planting more than 1,000 saplings along the elevated tracks of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) near Perungudi railway station.
The area along the railway tracks was previously covered with wild bushes and Karuvelam trees, which were cleared by the Green Velachery team after getting permission from Southern Railway. The railway officials helped in the environmental cause by clearing all the wild bushes and removing the Karuvelam trees using an excavator.
Velachery residents’ welfare associations, including Annai Indra Nagar, Ramaniyam Marvel, Balakrishna Nagar, Anna Nagar Extension and VGP Selva Nagar, along with Rotary Club of Chennai Velachery and Nizhal Trust, have been part of this green initiative.
Social activist S. Kumararaja said a group of members had taken the pledge to green the entire locality and have started by planting more than 1,000 saplings between the MRTS tracks and the newly formed Station Service Road.
Several flowering plants have been planted on the concrete median of the service road and traditional tree varieties of neem and pungai had been planted, he added.
The members have hired a tricycle and a big drum to water the saplings regularly in the morning. Under the Green Velachery project, it has been planned to plant over 50,000 saplings to improve the green cover in the area.