Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Neglected vertical gardens set up on bridges, rotaries, and road junctions to improve air quality and aesthetics highlight the civic body negligence.
The civic body had decorated the pedestals of statues at various rotaries and road junctions with these gardens, including those at Jyoti Talkies Square, Board Office Square, and JP Hospital Square. Most of the plants have plants either withered or stolen. The sight of wilted plants drooping from vertical pots, some of which are empty speaks volumes of laxity of the civic body.
Maintenance of plantations on roadsides, rotaries, square comes under the jurisdiction of Bhopal Municipal Corporation. The BMC officials assured to look into the matter when Free Press contacted them over the matter.
“We will check the locations being pointed out and necessary measures will be taken if required. Assistant BMC commissioner Subodh Jain accepted that some of the vertical gardens created in the city have got damaged but assured that the civic body is trying to put the things in order and regular monitoring is being done.
“These gardens need a lot of care and maintenance especially during summer, and we try to do our best as these vertical gardens not only enhance the beauty of the rotaries but also improve the air quality and so we have to ensure their proper maintenance,” said the officer.
“The vertical gardens were created for beautification of rotaries and it also acts as a natural air filter. BMC had adopted the green initiative as the green walls mitigate air pollution levels by lowering extreme summer temperatures through photosynthesis, trapping particulate matter, and capturing gases.
The ability of green walls to provide thermal insulation for buildings means less demand on power, and as a result, fewer polluting by-products are released into the air,” he added.
