The Times of India       28.11.2014  

Corporation plants saplings at sewage unit in Ondipudur to cut stench

COIMBATORE: The city corporation launched a 'green belt' initiative on the sewage treatment plant campus in Ondipudur on Thursday afternoon. Mayor P Rajkumar and commissioner A VijayaKarthikeyan planted 50 saplings, including aromatic varieties to contain the bad odour emanating from the plant.

The saplings were planted by officials through the afternoon. The 14-acre campus has free space to plant around 450 to 500 saplings, according to the corporation and forest college's estimates. "We will be planting more saplings in a phased manner. We will complete planting 450 saplings in the following months," said Rajkumar.

The saplings selected include some popular Indian species and some aromatic trees. Some of the trees planted are pongam tree, the Indian tropical mahua tree also known as Ilupai, the Rattle-pod tree also known as Vagai tree, mixed varieties of mahogany and the senthuram mango trees. "We have chosen eucalyptus and a variety of bamboo to help contain the smell here," said the mayor. "We have also asked the forest department to suggest more aromatic species of trees and plants that will grow in tropical conditions," he added.

The Coimbatore corporation had announced the launch of the green belt initiative to improve the city's green cover last week. "The city lost many trees during road expansion projects along the highways and also during construction of many flyovers in the city, due to which the city's green cover had decreased drastically," said the corporation spokesperson. "So, we decided to plant more trees across the city in all government buildings and empty spaces we have," she added.