Litter manure for the trees

March 14: Burning leaves causes the city to lose out on much needed nitrogen, caution tree experts who are requesting authorities to utilise the litter to generate much needed energy. Every day, piles of leaves shed by trees are burnt in city parks and residential areas, increasing the level of pollution. Instead, the leaves can be used to meet the energy requirements of the city, they suggest.
H.N. Chanakya, a scientist at the Indian Institute of Science, squarely blames the changed attitude towards tree preservation and restoration on government policies which are ruining the green cover of Bengaluru.
“The so called ‘clean’ policy has resulted in removing the leaf litter from underneath the trees. However, this is vital for a grown tree and its absence can reduce the quality of soil over years and ultimately cause the tree to fall,” he says.
The government should instead rope in local residents and set up compost bins where the leaves can be collected, suggests Dr Chanakya. “Natural rain or sprinkling some water will help in making the best compost which can be used for the same trees,” he says.
While burning of leaves is common elsewhere in the city, the horticulture department has adopted a mechanism of creating compost from the litter.
“We have stopped burning of leaves and we are looking to create more leaf bins to make compost,” says S. Jairam, horticulture director.
Urban planner S. Sudhira feels that it is time for the government to bring in strict norms to stop burning of garbage, plastic and leaf litter. “Due to incomplete combustion, poisonous gases are released into the air. No one takes note of the amount of pollution caused as a result of this incessant burning.”