On 26th of may going through the news papers waiting for the electric line to be restored, i read on the front page that Aila had claimed 8 lives officially. Most people have noticed this event. But the news that many would not have noticed was the city had also lost over 1000 tress in the cyclone.And with over 150 trees in Saltlake alone. That by itself would have been a headlines in a City like Mumbai, where a loss of 500 trees might not have been possible in the first place, cause for all you know there might not be 500 tress in heart Mumbai at all. I had once asked a Mumbaikar class mate of mine what she felt which was the greener city Kolkata or Mumbai. She said of course Mumbai.. we have the race course for morning walk she had exclaimed. After coming to Kolkata i have realised that she had no idea about this city and i am sure enough she never had visited the city even. One can find lush green avenues and green walk across entire Saltlake which would be bigger than the green South Central Delhi. Also not to mention the Central Park within Saltlake township, which can give mumbai race course in Mahalaxmi a run for money any given day and twice on Sundays. The park will be twice its size.
Driving a bit further one can drive through long stretches of farmland around EM by pass, which during monsoons looks wonderfully serene and gives the city a uniqueness which no other city can boast of. These farmlands were originally solid waste dumping yard. The solid waste used as fertilizers has made it bear crops all year long and that too in the heart of the city.
Kolkata also has its share of Race course and of course the Maidan region, the lungs of the city . The long 2 km stretch of manicured grass and trees with horses grazing around might not be a sight that many travelers imagine before they enter the city. But it is an integral part of the city.
But the area of concern for this city is the citizen have taken this greenery too much for granted. I have seen boys play football on barren rocky soil across the country, but here the grass is omnipresent. In Google Maps, when zoom on Kolkata in remain green , but in cities like Delhi and Mumbai its ash gray satellite view, showing the devoid of greenery. Yet Kolkatan think that the greenery has faded away, may be it is so , my friends told me hundred years back the sunderbans reached up to todays city limits. There has been a loss in vegetation due to urban development for sure, and i expect many more trees to felled across the next to years with the East West metro construction, yet to my eyes, as a stranger from a different city ,Kolkata is greener than many metros that i have seen.......
