In the past few years, we have seen tremendous environmental changes. From heavy floods to melting glaciers, from forest fires to polluted oceans – tragic incidents have taken place which is can be looked at as a constant reminder from the environment that things need to change.
And in one great step towards this change, a messy dumping ground in Chandigarh, near Punjab Engineering College, has been cleaned and planted with 6,000 species of trees. It is now on its way to becoming a beautiful forest!
The area had become a dumping ground years ago and was filled with filth. Waste which is dumped on land releases toxic chemicals which not only reduces the overall strength of the soil but also pollutes groundwater.
The afforestation initiative was taken by Indian Forest Services Officer Abdul Qayum and his team.
He took to Twitter to post before and after shots of the land. Have a look:
Then and NOW!
(Became a dumping ground years before, now afforested completely). We planted around 6,000 mixed species near PGI-PEC Chandigarh
Feeling happy with @ddifs99 😊 pic.twitter.com/oDK8VsnL3u— Dr Abdul Qayum, IFS (@drqayumiitk) July 17, 2020
People on the internet lauded their initiative and loved how clean the land looked after. While some suggested ideas on how to beautify the place even more, others said that more such initiatives should take place for a greener environment.
Reversing deforestation is complicated,planting trees is simple…#kudos to team n efforts…
— Shivangi chauhan.Teacher in basic education (@Shivang78772311) July 17, 2020
Wonderful. New forestry challenge : urban greens . Well planned.
— Mohan Ch.Pargaien IFS (@pargaien) July 17, 2020
There should not be a single landfill in India. Wet garbage can be turned into manure which can be freely distributed to farmers & dry garbage recycled with the help of tie-ups with businesses & citizen groups so that all dumping grounds can be rewilded like what you have done.👏
— Kailash Anerao (@AneraoKailash) July 17, 2020
These pics show ur hardwork, dedication towards ur service sir..hatts off to u sir🙏🙏🙏
— Sachin Rana (@SachinRana2316) July 17, 2020
I can see lots of hard work. Let's be more responsible.
— Sana Patel (@Sana11425857) July 17, 2020
Fantastic and noteworthy reclamation job
— Heman (@HKoopat) July 17, 2020
Wowwww……Amazing transformation….👏👏💐💐
— Rajesh Ahuja 'राजेश' (@RajeshAhujaa_) July 17, 2020
Wow! What a pleasing transformation 🌳🌳🌱
— Shobha A Rana (@blumarine82) July 18, 2020
Great efforts! Green Chandigarh 💚
— 🦚 (@duh_nannu) July 17, 2020
Great suggestion. Will be doing it soon…
— Dr Abdul Qayum, IFS (@drqayumiitk) July 17, 2020
Isn’t this inspiring? It goes on to make us realise how each one of us has a responsibility towards the environment and even small acts can reap big results. Let’s start with a small step, like taking care of a plant, shall we?