Visakhapatnam: On a mission to restore ecosystem, promote biodiversity
Aerial seeding exercise carried out by the Indian Navy helicopter in Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam: In a move to restore the ecosystem and promote biodiversity, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has embarked upon increasing the green cover in various parts of Visakhapatnam.
One of the effective techniques the civic body considered for the purpose is aerial seed ball dropping. With an aim to access places that are otherwise difficult to do so and distribute seed balls over a large extent of area, aerial seeding exercise has been taken up.
Collaborating with the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) for the massive green initiative, the civic body identified target areas to disperse the seed balls.
After the successful completion of aerial seeding exercise on October 2 wherein up to 1.5 lakh seed balls were dropped across the hilly areas, the GVMC proceeded with its second phase of aerial seeding exercise. In connection with this, Indian Navy helicopters from INS Dega dispersed 50,000 seed balls on November 3. Pavuralakonda-1 and 2 at Bheemunipatnam, Kapuluppada, Simhachalam, Porlupalem hills, Vedullanarava hills and Yarada were the areas identified for dispersing the seed balls. “The aerial seeding has been carried out to conserve the environs, control pollution and enhance forest cover. The initiative is taken up as a part of a comprehensive strategy considered by the GVMC to enhance green cover in Visakhapatnam,” shares Mayor G Hari Venkata Kumari with The Hans India.
Aerial seed ball dropping works as an effective strategy to restore the lost green cover, especially in areas that are otherwise difficult to plant trees manually thereby mitigating the effects of climate change.
The initiative saw active participation of Green Climate, an NGO that works for environmental conservation, contributing to the green initiative through seed ball preparation. Mixed with a combination of clay, compost plus seeds, the soil lumps were scattered in target areas.
After being dispersed, the seed balls are left to rely on natural processes for their germination as they receive moisture from rain and the seeds begin to sprout when condition becomes conducive.