Chinar trees, Cherry blossoms to soon adorn Yamuna isles in Delhi

This is also the first time that these two tree species have been planted in the Capital, the officials said

Lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Sunday oversaw the plantation of cherry blossoms and chinar trees across three islands in the Yamuna, located between Qudsia Ghat and the ITO barrage. The trees — 150 of each species — have been planted as part of the revival and aesthetic upgradation of the river and its floodplains, officials aware of the development said.

LG VK Saxena at the plantation drive in New Delhi on Sunday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

This is also the first time that these two tree species have been planted in the Capital, the officials said.

“Cherry blossom and chinar are being planted for the first time in Delhi, marking a new beginning in the drive to deck up Delhi’s landscape. The saplings of these two species have been planted at the highest points on each of the three islands with three metres of space between two saplings,” an LG House official said.

Apart from cherry blossom and chinar, 1,400 trees of other species were also planted, including kachnar, weeping willow, semal, bottle brush, bougainvillea and kaner.

“The initiative is aligned with the LG’s vision of making Delhi a city of flowers, for which he has been personally monitoring the progress of these works and coordinating with multiple agencies,” the official said.

During Sunday’s plantation drive, Saxena instructed officials to deploy Territorial Army personnel to protect these islands from encroachment, while the forest department will be maintaining the plants. He further said that seeds of a variety of flowering shrubs like marigold, cosmos and others will also be sown along the river banks, creating a flower bed along the edges of the river.

Pradip Krishen, environmentalist and author of the book Trees of Delhi, said both cherry blossom and chinar are unlkely to survive in Delhi’s climate as they are accustomed to much cooler temperatures. “The cherry blossom does well in Japan as that country has a much cooler, temperate climate, whereas in Delhi, the mercury can go beyond 45 degrees Celsius, which will put tremendous stress on the sapling. Agencies will have to work overtime and put in extra efforts to make it survive. Similarly, the Chinar tree is also an exotic species, which can grow well in Jammu and Kashmir as it has a much cooler temperature than Delhi. It is not a good idea to plant them in the floodplains or anywhere in Delhi,” Krishen said.