KMDA's green initiative generating good response

A KMDA eco-club's initiative of inviting citizens to 'adopt a tree' for saving the greenery in a large water body in the southern part of Kolkata has generated good response, a KMDA official said.
"The initiative is aimed at saving the greenery at Rabindra Sarobar in south Kolkata," a Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) official said.
"We are distributing forms from the eco-club among morning walkers, voluntary organisations and local clubs, and getting good response," the official said.
The eco-club called 'Taru Mitra' is also encouraging people to plant a sapling while celebrating occasions like marriage, anniversary or birthday.
'Taru Mitra' aims to enrol at least 300 members during the first phase, the official said.

"We also aim to involve school and college students and teachers in the eco-club," he said.
The decision to form 'Taru Mitra', meaning a friend of trees, was taken at a meeting between KMDA and the monitoring committee of Rabindra Sarobar in July while discussing ways of retaining the rich biodiversity of the Rabindra Sarobar area, he said.
The meeting, attended by KMDA CEO Saumitra Mohan, had also discussed regular dredging of the lake bed, work of removal of the silt from the public swimming pool, drainage of storm water from Rabindra Sarobar campus through nearby drainage line of Kolkata, giving NOC for cutting dead trees for safety of visitors and morning walkers.