A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report revealed what environmentalists have been warning us about for a long time. The report, titled ‘Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health’, released in June, reveals how healthy communities thrive on well-functioning ecosystems.
This applies globally. However, Dehradun is changing fast for the worst. Once lush green Doon is now turning into a concrete jungle.
leave aside healthy eco-system, the city has been witnessing an incredible rise in the population for the past few decades. Side by side, the volume of forest cover has been dwindling.
The city’s population is growing at a rate of 32 % (census 2011), and more and more land is being cleared for housing, industries and infrastructure. Environment destruction is resulting in the spiraling mercury during the summers.
“We never imagined things would come to such a sorry pass in Dehradun -- the city we love,” said Pooja, a resident of the city .
According to official data, in 2000, the number of trees felled in the urban areas of Dehradun was 423. Over nearly 15 years, the figure has reached a whopping 30,002.
“The picture of Doon getting denuded of the green saddens us all. This is natural for those who have been living here for many years. Even ten years ago, the place was a beauty,” said Amrish Paul, an old resident.
“Most of the trees felled on the pretext of widening the road could have been saved if the administration had consulted town planners instead of acting on its own,” the report says.
Internationally famous Basmati, litchis, fields of sweeter sugar canes and the tea plantations which are among the oldest in the country have disappeared, yielding place to factories, commercial and residential buildings.
If things continue this way for some more years not just Dehradun but Uttarakhand will lose charm as a green State.
Tourism industry, a major revenue source for the State, will be severely affected if deforestation continues at the same rate, the observers opine.
“But green, shady Dehradun getting lost forever would be a colossal loss that cannot be measured in terms of revenue gain or loss,” said an elderly resident of the city.
