Bamboo magic for Cooum, Adyar river banks
Species like Bamboo and Palmyra can also help bind the soil better,” Ramasamy said
By : pradeep kumar
Update: 2015-11-25 06:06 GMT
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) may just have the secret weapon to strip the stench off Cooum and Adyar rivers: Bamboo. The university, which has entered into a MoU with the Chennai Corporation, will be doling out expert advice to the local body on how best to preserve its tree cover.
A part of the agreement sees TNAU attempt to take on the task of strengthening the floral count along the Adyar and Cooum river banks. Choosing Bamboo, TNAU officials said, was simple.
“It is referred to as a natural 'oxygen parlour' because it has the capacity to trap large amount of carbon dioxide and release oxygen in loads,” said Dr K.K. Suresh, acting dean of the Forest College and Research Institute of Mettupalayam, a subsidiary of TNAU.
TNAU vice-chancellor Dr K. Ramasamy told DC that bamboo will have a larger root surface area and as such can release the oxygen directly into the river. “The toxic smell will no longer be present once the water is oxygenated. Species like Bamboo and Palmyra can also help bind the soil better,” he said.
Suresh added that there are also plans to reconvert dump sites into greenery areas, a proposal that TNAU seeks to implement by planting Subabul trees. Known to grow fast, Subabul trees are famous for their capacity to reclaim waste lands as they help fix nitrogen in the soil. "The only drawback is that it depends whether these sites have heavy toxic metals because dumping has been undertaken in these places for years together," said Suresh.
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