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Students catalysts for socio-economic uplift
A PROJECT by students of Karnataka Vidya Niketan proposing conversion of 78 acres of land on Bhuri Tekri hillock, which is blessed with natural water, into a green belt attracting flora and fauna and as a botanical garden for government school students has been chosen as the best entry from the State at the National Children?s Science Congress.
A PROJECT by students of Karnataka Vidya Niketan proposing conversion of 78 acres of land on Bhuri Tekri hillock, which is blessed with natural water, into a green belt attracting flora and fauna and as a botanical garden for government school students has been chosen as the best entry from the State at the National Children’s Science Congress.
The issues raised by the students have also provided some food for thought to the city planners. The project is themed on ‘biodiversity-nurture nature for our future’ with the tagline ‘presenting the ordinary in an extraordinary way’.
The hillock situated in Bhicholi Hapsi near Kanadia Bypass close to the school has been encroached upon on the top, while Manavta Nagar Colony and Mourya Hills have come up on the hillside. This has escaped attention of city planners, but attracted the land mafia.
Project group leader Amit Bundela told Hindustan Times that the focus was on value addition to natural landscape and sustaining utilisation of bio-resources for strengthening living conditions. “The project has been prepared keeping in
mind the about 1,100-strong population of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Nagar slum cluster that has come up atop the hill and integrating them with their surroundings by developing the area to sustain ecologically-friendly living.
The potential to develop the area as an ecological hub for sustaining biodiversity emerged first as a byproduct of the study and then as a major idea.”
Involvement of various government agencies has been sought to either rehabilitate the slum-dwellers or better still to construct vertical housing for them under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in order to free as much government land as possible and to utilise it as a centre for fostering and conserving plant and animal species. It will be a boon for Bhicholi region, which is fast developing into a concrete jungle devoid of a green belt.
One of the first settlers, Nathi Bai from Rajasthan, who was instrumental in digging a pond atop the hill and flattening its surface making it fit for living, says with pride that the nearly 80-ft deep pond excavated by them contains water throughout the year and has solved the water problem. She recalls the large-scale quarrying that took place years ago on the hill and how she and her group managed to denude the top and excavate a flat surface now closely resembling a plateau.
These two things, which drew other labourers working in nearby quarries, are now becoming a major attraction for land sharks.
School principal G Prabhakar Rao said that the hill serves as a large catchment area and plenty of water drains down to waste, which can actually be collected through rainwater harvesting after excavation at the foothill, thus solving water crisis faced by the people and help raise the water table.
The hill and surrounding area, as per the finding of the students’ survey, can be used for growing medicinal plants and jatropha, thereby providing occupation to the slum-dwellers who are mostly seasonal labourers.
Shaitket Chandra, a renowned astronomer and environmentalist said, “The place is fit for developing bio-diversity in manmade region and terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity. During my last visit I had spotted several species of avian life attracted to the Tekri situated on a higher elevation and to the fish in the pond.
Pelicans, kingfishers, woodpeckers, sparrows, pigeons, parrots, mockingjays and other birds can easily be spotted here, thus revealing the potential of the place to be developed as a veritable bird-watchers’ paradise. Furthermore the area of open land here is larger than of Vikram Park (Ujjain) and small herbivore species can also be let loose here,’’ he added.
Various district, State and national authorities have been approached by the school, but it is yet to receive a response. Now, they wish to attract the attention of President APJ Abdul Kalam when he visits the national Science Congress to be held later this month in Assam.
