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Tree lovers give potholes, sidewalks a touch of green ………..Sudeshna Chatterjee
Mumbai: In the West, they are variously termed as pavement pimpers, gardengodfathers, guerrilla gardeners et al. They are essentially people who love trees and tend to them on others’ land, usually without permission. From potholes to sidewalks, wherever they see some space, they fill it up with colourful plants and flowers. Here in Mumbai, in the distant suburb of Kalwa, we have some desi guerrilla gardeners whose mission it is to save indigenous plants by transplantation.
“In the last two years, we have saved almost 200 plants, mostly banyan, peepal and clustered fig, stuck in between compound wall crevices or peeping out of a building wall,’’ says Vikram Yende who started the practice two years ago.
“It all began when I saved a small banyan tree from our compound wall and transplanted it in our frontyard,’’ says Yende. Encouraged by public response, he formed a group with some like-minded young people. There are about eight members in the group, most are working. “One of our members is a botany teacher and we take regular tips from a horticulturalist, besides reading up. This is to ensure we make no mistake in checking the soil, digging the pit, etc, depending on the species of the plant. The group has now sought registration under the name of Green Umbrella,’’ says Yende.
A member of the group, Yogesh Khatriya (26), said two people are enough to save one plant. “Many times, residents call us but more often, we keep a sharp eye out for such plants. It is more difficult to uproot a tree from the building wall. Fallen trees can be as high as 7 to 8 ft, though the tallest that we have saved till now is a 12 ft peepal tree,’’ says Vishal Revankar (27), a flight reservation agent.
“Usually, we ferry trees in an auto. If the plant is pretty small, we sometimes carry it on a bike. We use garden tools like pick-axe, spade, shovel, etc for uprooting and transplanting trees,’’ adds Revankar.
Immediately after a plant is uprooted, it is put in a bucket or pot of water containing rooting powder for a few minutes. Plants are replanted in an area that is close to where at least one of the group members reside so that the plant can be nurtured.
“Currently, we operate within Thane and Kalwa. But we want to save more trees. Hence, we want to buy a van with a higher roof to ferry trees at longer distances. But, like now, we will always do it for free. This is our way to give back something to the country. So, we hope to work enough to afford it,’’ says another member, 30-yearold Kapil Jadhav, an electronic engineer. The group gets invited from schools and colleges to give demos on transplantation.
‘TRANSPLANTATION CAN BE KEY TO SURVIVAL’
According to Dr Nilesh Baxi, member of the Tree Authority, a tree can be saved by transplanting it to the same place or another place. He recalls how last year, more than a 100-year-old banyan tree with a satellite peepal tree on it, fell on a private compound wall in the corner of Nana Chowk. The tree got transplanted with the help of expert guidance. However, what helped the tree survive is its sturdy nature, Dr Baxi says. TNN
* The tree that was uprooted at Grant Road has been replanted |