A green belt on the outer periphery, and running across Sectors 39 to Sector 47 along the Outer Dakshin Marg, may be a rich source of oxygen to the lungs, but people living in the vicinity are also having to face the side effects of the dense tree cover – a battle with bugs and mosquitoes. With the mosquito breeding season having set in, and the health authorities gearing up for the spread of vector borne diseases like dengue, malaria and chikungunya, the lady councillor for ward No. 9 comprising sector 39 and 40, Gurbax Rawat, has started giving shape to an innovative idea in an effort to try and blunt the impact of these diseases.
On Saturday, she invited Mayor Asha Kumari Jaswal to launch a drive to plant lemongrass, a hardy grass with medicinal and other natural properties like being a bug and snake repellent, all along the inner periphery of the green belt, abutting the first row of houses in Sector 39-D. As the Mayor ceremonially planted the first lemongrass sapling, 100-odd residents, gathered on the occasion, took turns to plant a few hundred more plants in a row. According to Gurbax Rawat the forest department had given them 2,000 saplings of lemongrass free of cost and she planned to involve residents to plant these along the green belt in Sector 39 and 40.
PHOTOS BY: LIFE IN CHANDIGARH
The program was initiated by an NGO – Safe Life Foundation – in collaboration with the residents welfare association of Sector 39-D. To what extent the plantation will help reduce the menace of bugs and mosquitoes will be known in due course, but the thought itself was appreciated by all, including the Mayor.
She was seen asking her close supporters and another councillor Ravi Kant Sharma, who was also present, to plant lemongrass in their respective areas.
Maintaining that she was the Mayor equally for all citizens first, and her political affiliation came later, she appealed to all residents and councillors to unitedly work for common good of the city, forgetting all extraneous considerations.
