Saving the city, one sapling at a time !

"A city dies when its lakes die”

Tree Plantation Drive - June 5, 2016

Today Bangalore is growing without realising that it is actually dying. 

Thanks to Urban encroachment, deforestation and unsustainable extraction of ground water, Namma Bengaluru which was once described as the land of thousand lakes, today is left with less than 200 of those lakes and faces major drinking water problem. 

River Cauvery alone is unable to meet the growing demands of the city. Revival of water bodies and Replenishment of depleted groundwater level is the only solution.

Tippagondanahalli reservoir, which used to supply water to 30% of Bengaluru city population two decades ago -  is now dry. Kumudvathi and  Arkavathi  were source rivers for this reservoir. The Kumudvathi River, if revived has the potential to augment Cauvery's water to satisfy Bangalore’s needs.

 The Art of Living Foundation, under " Volunteer For A Better India Movement",  has taken up the initiative of rejuvenating Kumudvathi the river.  The key measures taken are : controlling soil erosion through boulder checks,  recharging ground water and planting trees.

Among these, planting trees is a long-term but permanent solution for restoring the eco-system.  As part of Cisco CSR  - A group of  20+ cisco volunteers / their family, along with volunteers from AOL, participated  in  the “Tree Plantation Drive at Machanayakanahalli, in Kumudvathi catchment area” on June 5th - “ World Environment Day”. Is there a better way to celebrate the day   ?.

Highlights of our tree plantation drive :

• We planted about 400 saplings of Jamun, Jackfruit, Wild Mango, Neem, Lakshmi Taru and Ficus varieties.
• Educative session on Soil erosion control, Ground water recharging and river Rejuvenation.
• Commitment from Local Farmers and school to nurture the saplings.
• Visit to the ground water reservoir built as part of initial phase of this project, which now acts as a source of water for cattle throughout the year
• Tasty Local food
• Participation from across age groups – While the kids enjoyed planting saplings, playing in mud & water; the elderly enthusiastic lady was a true inspiration to all of us.

At the end of the day, each of us felt satisfied to have taken a step towards making this a better planet to live, not only by planting trees but also by showing our kids what is the right thing to do !

Saving the city, one sapling at a time !