Cable car rides help replenish Patnitop’s green slopes
In the past couple of days, approximately 5,000 seed balls have been dropped on the steep slopes of Patnitop via cable car
Following an unprecedented heatwave across Jammu region this summer, the forest department has embarked on a seed ball plantation drive on the hills of Udhampur district to replenish the green cover.
Udhampur divisional forest officer (DFO) Navneet Singh said, “This year, we have set a target of planting one lakh seeds in three forest ranges of Udhampur, Dudu and Panchari via seed ball technology.”
“The seed ball technology is a new and innovative concept. We target areas where we can’t reach on foot like steep slopes for plantation,” the DFO added.
The seed ball is actually a seed wrapped in soil material, like a mixture of clay and compost, and then dried. It also has humus and manure with viable seeds. In the form of balls, they are thrown at slopes and they germinate during monsoon,
“Our field staff conducted a seed ball plantation drive at Patnitop using a ropeway. They sprinkled seed balls from the cable car on areas where soil degradation and deforestation have taken place,” he said.
The DFO informed that the forest department will subsequently rope in PRIs, government institutions, colleges, police, judiciary and paramilitary forces to create awareness about plantation.
“We intend to increase green cover in Jammu and Kashmir to make it greener. Apart from seed ball plantation, we will plant 1.10 lakh plants,” he said, adding that the seed plantation drive was part of the Prime Minister’s “Ek Ped Maa ke Naam” campaign.
In the past couple of days, approximately 5,000 seed balls have been dropped on the steep slopes of Patnitop via cable car.
Union minister Dr Jitendra Singh also took to ‘X’ to relay the information. “To increase the #Forest cover in challenging terrains, district #Udhampur has adopted the use of seed balls containing seeds encased in a soil mixture and dropped from Cable Car,” he wrote.
Notably, frequent blazes had ravaged the region’s forest during May and June, with the fire and emergency services department receiving 60 to 70 calls about fire incidents accordinf to deputy director RK Raina.
The forest department has now undertaken a seed ball plantation drive on the steep slopes of Patnitop tourist resort. The forest department used a cable car facility to cover the unreachable slopes of the hills.