An ambulance for Delhi’s trees

To keep New Delhi green and healthy, a new ambulance for trees will be launched on Friday, reports Neelam Pandey.

To keep New Delhi green and healthy, a new ambulance for trees will be launched on Friday.

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The Rs 13.5 lakh ambulance — a green truck with warning lights and siren — will provide immediate help to the city’s trees, which make Delhi one of the world’s greenest capitals.

To be launched by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), it will be India’s first tree ambulance.

New Delhi, though just three per cent of Delhi’s total area, is its greenest. While the rest of the city has 5.73 per cent green cover, 46 per cent of New Delhi is green with at least 95,000 trees.

According to NDMC officials, the city is losing 150-200 trees every year for the last five years, mainly
during storms and due to drying up.

“The ambulance comes with tree washers, sprayers, pruners, manure reserves and chainsaws, and a team of six persons trained for a month at the Forest Institute of India, Dehradun,” said an official.

Residents of NDMC areas can help keep their localities green simply by calling 41501354 or emailing
director.horticulture@ndmcmail.gov.in.