Andhra trees adorn Worli seaface

Taking into account the water shortage in the city,the BMC has also found a new way of watering the plants,which promises to bring down the consumption by 50 percent. “A two-and-a-half ft deep hollow bamboo shaft has been embedded in each tree pit,with only its mouth exposed to the surface. These bamboo shafts can carry water directly to the root of the trees. This way,we can water the plants without wasting too much water over the surface,” Avinash Kubal,in-charge of the Maharashtra Nature Park and one of the six-members committee appointed by the BMC to shortlist the trees,said.

Rokade added that they also plan to urge local residents to adopt a tree each and request them to water them with a bottle,especially on dry days. “The bamboo shafts make watering very simple. One can simply empty a bottle in the hole,” he added. In December,as many as 7,200 trees were acquired from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh as a part of the BMC’s plan to beautify Mumbai. Palms,fruiting and flowering trees of 21 varieties were purchased for a total of Rs 10 lakh. The trees are scheduled to be planted in two batches. Nearly 3,000 will adorn the city roads across Marine Drive,Worli seaface,Andheri Kurla Road and Andheri Dahisar road in the first phase.

Rokade said,“By next year we want to plant all the 7,000 trees. There are also plans of visiting a site in Gujarat to acquire similar trees from later this year.”