Dadar Residents Plant 400 Saplings Around Shivaji Park to Curb Red Soil Pollution

Dadar residents living around Shivaji Park in Dadar West planted 400 indigenous saplings along the two-kilometer periphery of the open space last week to tackle red soil pollution. The drive was launched by local citizens seeking to prevent plumes of dust from rising from the loose ground and spreading into the surrounding neighborhood.

The community action follows two years of repeated attempts by residents to resolve the soil pollution issue in coordination with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Despite ongoing efforts to engage civic authorities over the two-year period, the discussions failed to yield results, prompting local residents to handle the environmental problem independently.

The selected plants comprise indigenous medium-sized tree varieties specifically chosen to address the air quality and dust conditions around the park. The drive included saplings of ashoka trees, banyan trees, and flowering varieties of jasmine, such as parijat and raat rani, which is also known as night blooming jasmine.

According to the plan for the green cover, the saplings will eventually grow into medium-sized trees that form a continuous wind barrier around Shivaji Park's 2-km border. Loose red soil across the open ground currently generates dust plumes that scatter across nearby areas. The established tree line is intended to block wind, keeping the red soil contained and stopping dust from spreading across Dadar West.

Through the plantation of these 400 saplings, local residents aim to secure a long-term solution to the red soil dust issue that has impacted the Dadar West area around Shivaji Park.