A long wait proved fruitful for NGO Nizhal, when Principal Secretary, Shivdas Meena, IAS, and Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner, J.Radhakrishnan, IAS, visited the Kotturpuram Urban Forest on July 9 morning.
The officials were given a tour of the Forest and a brief of the activities of Nizhal by its Founder Shobha Menon and Trustee T.D.Babu. “We emphasised on the need for efforts of the community as a whole in preserving trees and understanding more about them,” said Shobha.
The team also pointed out the need for understanding the difference between nature-centric urban forests and human-centric parks. “Both the places have different purposes and the needs should be understood by the public and the government agencies. These urban forests are biodiversity conservation spots and the general parks are for human recreation. The public needs to be more responsible while visiting urban forests,” explained T.D.Babu.
Impressed by the efforts of Nizhal in creating the forest and the importance given to indigenous trees, the officials said that more such places need to be created with community involvement. They also asked Nizhal to play an advisory role in connecting public green spaces of the GCC with the local community around it, across Chennai.
Representatives from various communities: Lochana Mahesh, Anu Narayan, Subhashini, Rishi and Ravi were also present, and explained their initiatives.
