Punjab to establish 'Forest Awareness Parks' in urban areas

Chandigarh, Sep 26 (UNI) The Punjab Forest Department has initiated a campaign of greening the urban areas through establishment of 'Forest Awareness Parks' on urban forest areas.

Forest and Wildlife Minister Tikshan Sud said that the aim of this project is to convert fast degrading forest areas that have come into urban sprawl of cities into well-developed green lungs for the city.

This would be developed by protecting these areas with chain link fencing, filling of low lying areas with earth and creation of lawns, creation of nature trails and massive planting of trees, shrubs and herbs that would not only create a neat, clean and green environment for the public but also act as an open nature observatory.

The Forest Minister said that all this would be done by developing a proper plan under the guidance of landscape experts and senior forest officers.

During the current year, such parks would be developed at Moga, Palanpur (Ropar) and Hoshiarpur. In Moga, the park would be set up at the cost of Rs 2 crore while in Palanpur (Ropar) and Hoshiarpur it would be set at a cost of Rs 1 crore each.

UNI PS BP1642