Srinagar city is expanding at a fast pace. In another decade or so we are looking at a population of three million people including those in the periphery. The entire topography of Budgam, Pulwama, Ganderbal, and some portions of Baramulla districts will undergo massive change once Srinagar city expands South, North, East, and West. In about two decades’ time, a good portion of districts like Ganderbal, Budgam, and Pulwama will be for all practical purposes the ‘Greater Srinagar’ area. This assessment is mainly due to the horizontal expansion model of growth being followed and the craze to have a standalone home for everyone. This massive expansion means providing three to four million people with round-the-clock electricity and water supplies, black-topped roads, banking facilities, and educational facilities. All this means that a lot of area in these districts which are under the tree cover of maple, elm, birch etc. will have to be disemboweled to pave way for this expansion. This further means lesser oxygen being generated, more warmer days in summer in Srinagar, shrinking water bodies, and whatnot. This would be a huge challenge for the administration in the coming days. Vertical expansion is one solution. The other solution is said to be Miyawaki method. Miyawaki method is one of the most effective tree planting methods for creating forest cover quickly on degraded land that has been used for other purposes like agriculture and construction. It used natural reforestation techniques. It is forestation using trees native to the area and replicating natural reforestation principles. The trees planted by this method grow faster, jump-starting the forest creation process and capturing more carbon. This method has helped countries across the world to help regenerate forest cover in cities where massive expansion happened in short amount of time. It has been effective the world over and we hope it will be effective here as well. The administration must take Miyawaki forest regeneration on a serious note and start identifying a few small patches in Srinagar where small Miyawaki regeneration forests could be started.
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