Mangrove forests and forests at the bank of the river and oceanside help maintain the river banks by preventing the waves from destroying the banks. Due to the course of nature, these forests get destroyed. Similarly, a famous mangrove forest named Kandla Forest in Udupi, Karnataka, is decaying with time. The plants are disappearing from the riverside, creating issues at the banks. Many incidents of waterlogging are seen in the coastal area of this region, and environmentalists are working towards finding a solution to the problem.
The riverside and the Kandla Forest are breeding grounds for aquatic life. Many aquatic species are found here. The Kandla Forest provides shelter for aquatic life. Most importantly, the plants on the banks of the river play the role of a natural barrier against the erosion of the riverbanks. Due to multiple reasons, environmentalists are taking up tree plantation projects to save the riverbank and the age-old forest.
To fight the crisis, Jeet Milan Roach of the Forest Charitable Trust and Moras of CFAL have taken up a project to plant 45,500 trees on the banks of the riverside. The forest department is also helping the environmentalists. With this initiative, the coastal river is expected to see the growth of the Kandla forest. These plants will be planted at the banks of the Netravati River, Udyavara Kadekkaru Pangla River, Swarna River, and Havanje Swarna River.
According to Jeet Milan Roach and Vijay Moras, they have already started to cover 1 km of the Netravati and Swarna rivers. Another four kilometres are in Bengal. However, these plants are planted with a few rules in mind. According to the experts, there should be a meter of distance between the plants. Apart from that, these plants can only be planted with the tides of the river in mind. The workers can only work from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. as it is proves to be the best time to plant these trees. The volunteers and workers face many difficulties too. Working in the mud is another challenging job to complete.
As the project continues, 60 to 70 per cent of the planted trees remain, even after the strong waves. The forest is expected to grow back to its previous nature shortly. Currently, four workers are volunteering alongside Jeet Milan Roach.
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