BMC’s green dream is not a patch on London

Most of the velvet grass on medians has dried due to lack of regular watering 

The idea was to give Mumbai a green feel, keeping the greenery of cities like London in mind. For this, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had decided to cover all the tree bases and the medians with lush green velvet grass. Not just that, colourful flowers too were to enhance the beauty of the city’s streets.

The idea had struck additional municipal commissioner RA Rajeev after he was impressed by the green look of European cities on his visit there. In July, Rajeev had told DNA that laying velvet grass would ensure that dust remained settled in summer and mud did not roll on to the streets during monsoon.

However, less than a year after the plan was started in January, the grass has already lost its greenery. At many places it has turned yellow or bald patches have appeared in others. Most tree bases have completely lost their cover.

Known as Korean grass or the velvet grass, the sheathing leaves cost Rs18 per sq ft. Like all green cover, they only require regular watering to maintain the thick cover that they generate. Mumbaikars cite lack of watering as the prime reason for the grass to dry up so fast.

Not far away from the BMC headquarters, DN Road, which is declared as a Heritage precinct, too does not have any grass left on its tree bases. Stamping and spitting by pedestrians has accelerated the process. BMC was to complete covering all the medians and tree bases with Korean grass within a year.

When contacted, Rajeev said, “Grass have dried because of the sudden heat after the monsoon. Once water is poured regularly, it will come back to life. It is a natural phenomenon that plants cannot bear the heat after the monsoon.”
s_ashutosh@dnaindia.net