The newly unveiled park along the Yamuna in Paonta Sahib. Tribune photo
Ambika Sharma
Solan, February 3
The unchecked dumping of waste in the open had marred the otherwise scenic stretch along the Yamuna river in the historic town of Paonta Sahib. It not only led to the degradation of valuable forest land, but the foul smell repelled tourists and visitors from this beautiful location.
In 2022, the Forest Department decided to impose a monetary penalty for open dumping. In a bid to convert it to a green space, then Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Kunal Angrish, along with the local administration, chalked out a detailed plan. The plan got an impetus when the chairman of the National Green Tribunal laid its foundation in September, 2022. After assuming charge in February, 2023, DFO Aishwarya Raj, who had previously worked on eco-restoring a dumpyard to a green zone in 2021, enthusiastically took up the task.
“Paonta Sahib is at the cusp of four states — namely Himachal, Uttarakhand, Haryana and UP — and it keeps officers on tenterhooks in tackling challenges like sand-mining, smuggling, conducting night raids, human-wildlife conflicts, silviculture management, etc,” Raj said.
While works such as paving paths for the park began in February 2023, key work for eco-restoration began in October-November.
“The idea was to create a space that blended forested land with an open green area for recreation, walking, bird watching, etc. Apart from an enthusiastic team, the support of zealous citizens helped create the green space” the DFO said.
Regarding the project as an ecological New Year’s gift to the residents, Raj said, “We planned and eventually developed a landscape approach with ecological considerations of restoration, edutainment (education and entertainment) models for visitors, along with waste-to-wonder uses such as an elephant sculpture made of plastic waste.” The park has several zones, including ‘Miyawaki’ zone, which houses over 100 forestry and fodder trees of native species.
Trees for the canopy layer, the middle layer and the lower/shrub layer, alongside some endemic trees disappearing from our forests have been added to the park. “The focus was on ensuring that the native species get their rightful space to bloom in the coming years .The zone is expected to pace up several folds of carbon sequestration potential of the otherwise degraded area in some years from now.”
The ‘Story of Yamuna’ section displays 3D artwork and edutainment boards depicting facts about the river.
Garbage dump to community space
The idea was to create a space that blended forested land with an open green area for recreation, walking, bird watching, etc. Apart from an enthusiastic team, the support of zealous citizens helped create the green space. — DFO Aishwarya Raj
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