The immediate need is to stop racketeers from using gardens to make money and ensuring that public gardens remain healthy places, aesthetic and environment friendly, says senior journalist VIDYADHAR DATE
Mumbai’s elite is rightly up in arms against the decision to cut down a number of trees in Tata Garden at Nepean Sea Road for the controversial coastal road. People are angry because this is in their upper class area and they use the garden for recreation.
Unfortunately, elsewhere, much of our upper class is not bothered about gardens, because they seldom visit them with the result that some are in a sad state of neglect. Many municipal gardens are being concretised so that some people can make money, even when the resources of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are strained due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is good that a garden in Bandra was named on July 12 after Mr Darryl D’Monte, noted environment journalist and former resident editor of The Times of India, Mumbai. Surprisingly and unfortunately, a history scholar speaking on the occasion thought it was odd that a garden had been named after him, implying that a garden is not so important.
The point is gardens are obviously very important in these days of climate change. Gardens have many advantages, as they are great places for social interaction, health and community well-being, causes dear to Darryl. I experience these advantages almost daily in Joggers Park in Bandra.
It is inspiring watching people do exercises in the open in the garden. This is so much fun and much better than the sweaty gyms, which are also hazardous in the days of Covid-19.
Unfortunately, we seem to have a false sense of values even about gardens. For some strange reason, Joggers Park has acquired cult status. So the rich in their big cars flock there, while almost no one goes to the municipal Katrak Park, just across the road, though it has more trees, is quieter, but ironically, it doesn’t have the status of Joggers Park.
Unfortunately, many people including those in the administration simply do not understand the importance of biodiversity, indigenous species and greenery. So in Joggers Park, one will find so many Ashoka trees and only a few other varieties that attract birds. Also lacking are varieties of plants and grasses.
Clearly, some people are using municipal gardens to make money rather than to provide amenities. So in one nice park, crores of rupees were needlessly spent, wasted rather. Expensive soil was brought in truckloads for no reason, and cement, concrete, rubber, chemicals, and synthetic tracks were added.
Despite this extravagance, the poor watchmen were not paid for months and their misery has worsened owing to the pandemic.
Surprisingly, the contract for embellishments did not include repairs to the toilet. This has resulted in a paradoxical situation ― after all the money spent, the toilet is still dirty. What is worse is that gaudy, blinding lights make a walk in the park unpleasant in the evening. Tragically, some of the expensive lamps have already collapsed because of poor workmanship.
These days there is also misplaced emphasis on jogging tracks and skating and so on in gardens, instead of providing greenery, soothing shade and plants which will attract butterflies and birds.
Another incongruity, which is disturbing to the environment is the mania for very artificial looking, heavily manicured lawns. These are coming in for severe criticism in the West where the unfortunate trend began. We need sturdy, indigenous grass, not the water guzzling, environmentally unfriendly imported variety.
We also erroneously think that tea and coffee plantations are so nice, and so green. The truth is that they are a disaster for the soil as they promote monoculture. Cultivating of a single crop or plant on land, is known as monoculture, which upsets the natural balance of soils. Too many of the same plant species in one field area rob the soil of its nutrients, resulting in decreasing varieties of bacteria and microorganisms that are needed to maintain fertility of the soil.
Biodiversity should be a key element and our priority should be to help promote our well-being and maintain a diverse and healthy planet. That should be our goal for all time.
Meanwhile, the immediate need is to stop racketeers from using gardens to make money and ensure that public gardens are healthy places, aesthetic and environment friendly.
Vidyadhar Date is a senior journalist, who worked for many years withThe Times of India in Mumbai. He is the author of a book on public transport and pedestrians.
(Featured Image: Joggers Park. Image Courtesy – Asian Age)