E-Paper
Vertical gardens, not air purifiers, to check pollution in Panchkula
As a pilot project, the Municipal Corporation, Panchkula, has decided to set up its first vertical garden at one of the busiest intersections, Majri Chowk, Sector 1, Panchkula, at a cost of ₹42 lakh.
Discarding the idea of setting up air purifiers, Panchkula will set up vertical gardens to help check growing pollution. As a pilot project, the Municipal Corporation, Panchkula, has decided to set up its first vertical garden at one of the busiest intersections, Majri Chowk, Sector 1, Panchkula, at a cost of ₹42 lakh.
Majri Chowk is one of the busiest intersections and considered a pollution hotspot as 40,000 vehicles cross this interaction daily, so as a pilot project the vertical garden is proposed to be set up there.
The vertical garden will be developed on the pillars of the flyover near Majri Chowk for which MC had already got permission from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). As per the plan, pots will be mounted on the pillars of the flyover. With this the authorities are aiming to reduce pollution.
“The MC has already allocated tender to a private agency and in 15 days the agency will begin work of setting up vertical garden and it is expected to be completed in 4 months,” said mayor Kulbhushan Goyal, adding, “Depending on the response, it will be replicated in other places in Panchkula.”
On lines of Chandigarh, the MC Panchkula in 2022 had decided to set up air purifiers in Panchkula to curb growing pollution and improve air quality. The MC general house had passed resolution to install four air purifiers in different parts of Panchkula.
The UT administration had also installed a 24-meter-tall air purification tower at the Transport Area in Sector 26, Chandigarh, but it failed to meet the expectation.
“The response to the air purifiers in Chandigarh was not very encouraging, so we have decided to develop a vertical garden. This will not only improve the air quality but also help curb pollution. If we get good feedback, vertical gardens will be erected in different parts of Panchkula soon,” added Goyal.
He said, “It has worked in cities like Bengaluru, Kochi, and Delhi and we have decided to replicate the same in Panchkula.”
What is a vertical garden?
A vertical garden grows upwards using a frame or other support systems. Rather than growing on the ground horizontally, plants nurture vertically. The technique is being seen as an instrument to fight the increasing air pollution in urban areas. This technique has been used in cities like Delhi, Bengaluru and Kochi.
