Namaskaram!
There was an outbreak of fire at Brahmapuram. Toxic gases, from burning plastic, have spread into the atmosphere. That has become a hot topic of debate now. What I’m going to talk about today is something related to this subject. I shall try to explain how the Miyawaki Model offers a solution to such issues. Close to where I stay, is a huge plot which was full of rubber trees. After the trees were cut down, the whole place was overrun by a wild variety of the bean plant. Even big trees were not spared from attack by this weed. This is not an isolated incident. We hear of similar overgrowth in other places as well. In Wayanad district, nearly 50 acres of a real forest has been virtually colonized by this weed and destroyed. When we talk of spraying pesticides in order to destroy these weeds, we should realize the poisonous liquid will eventually reach the soil. And when we grow tapioca or banana there, the poison seeps into them too. The insects in the soil will also die. This is a vicious cycle.
What I am trying to say is that despite all the greenery you see in this place, the ground is full of dry leaves. A few days back, a fire broke out. We do not know how that happened. The fire broke out on top of the hill. As I was walking along this area, I saw a Fire Force truck, and there was confusion all around. A huge area had already been destroyed. The Fire Force personnel hosed down the area with water, and prevented the fire from spreading to the nearby rubber plantations. Although the whole area got destroyed, a small patch of weeds has survived. I am sure that within a month’s time, the entire plot will be covered once again with that plant.
The advantage of Miyawaki forests, as the Professor himself has said, is that they will help control fire in urban areas. Fire will break out if someone sets a pile of rubbish on fire or mindlessly discards a burning cigarette on it. Usually, humans themselves set fire to forests in order to clear it. This may damage an entire forest. Now you may wonder whether fire will not break out in a Miyawaki forest. The Amazon forest has succumbed to fire. In California, wild fires have raged for days on end. If all this can happen, what is the specialty of a Miyawaki forest?
What we need to remember is that, of late, supply of LPG is being done through underground pipes in all our cities. In the event of an earthquake, gas pipes may get ruptured, and there is a huge possibility of fire breaking out in the affected area. I have read about this phenomenon although I do not have first-hand knowledge about it. Accidents in factory sites can also cause fire outbreaks. In cities, as buildings are close to each other, if there is an outbreak of fire, there is every possibility of it spreading fast. That is where Miyawaki forests become relevant.
If Miyawaki forests can be created in four to five years as a “green wall” around factories or houses, they can act as mitigators of loss. That is, they can reduce the negative impact by delaying the spread of fire. In the normal course of things, if fire takes 10 minutes to spread from one house to another, a forest in between will be able to slow down the spread by two hours. By the time the green leaves catch fire and the tree also gets affected, we will be able to get help from the Fire Force personnel. That is the advantage of having urban forests.
Recently, there was a fire in a nearby factory when a tank containing gas or acid exploded. The greatest challenge was to prevent the fire from spreading to the buildings close by. If there had been a 15-inch-thick green belt in between, the trees would have delayed the spread of fire and fumes. This should be seen only as a small solution because we cannot claim that planting Miyawaki forests will prevent fires altogether. The one advantage of Miyawaki forests is that, in the event of a fire outbreak by natural or unnatural causes, they can limit the damage.
Another problem is one of waste management. Rubbish piles are mounting everywhere in Kerala now. In my opinion, there are two reasons for it. One, earlier people lived in houses with large compounds, and they had more time at their disposal. They raised chickens, not in cages as Broiler chickens are, but allowed them to roam freely in the garden plot. Two, there used to be more crows earlier. I remember, in my childhood when I used to go to temple after my morning bath, I would see crows – up to 100 in number – perched all along the telephone line, waiting for food. Maybe there was a hotel close by or a waste heap. As we walked along the path, baby crows would swoop down on us, or try to snatch snacks from the hands of little children as they pottered around in the garden. In fact, crows occupied a considerable space in our children’s literature. But their numbers seem to have come down. It was after coming to Puliyarakonam, that I began to sight them in sizeable groups.
The other day, during the time of COVID, there was an amusing incident in a flat close by. A friend of mine, living in the 12 th or 13 th floor, had the habit of feeding crows. She would place pieces of dosa on the parapet wall, and crows would fly in to pick them up. One day, unfortunately, a piece fell on the head of the president of the flat residents’ association. He convened an urgent meeting, and issued an order prohibiting crow-lovers from staying in any of the flats in the block. The feeding of crows had to be stopped.
In earlier times, the waste materials from our kitchens were flung into the garden plot, and they were cleared by crows. We used to feed cows and hens, and crows would get a share in the process. Today, we dispose of the waste materials in plastic bags after tying them up securely. As a result, in the absence of oxygen, the waste goes not decompose properly. Instead it becomes rotten and gets dumped somewhere.
If it is possible to leave organic waste in our own compounds – not possible for those who stay in flats to raise chickens – it will get eaten by crows and other creatures. Earlier, perceiving the possibility of such materials falling inside our wells, we used to cover the mouth of the well with wire mesh. That made it impossible for crows to perch there. In such a manner, we found our own solutions to these problems. Now, when we live in cities, waste has to get dumped in a faraway place. For that, acres of land are required.
What we can do is divide such lands into small segments, and grow Miyawaki forests in between. It is said that nearly Rs 100 crores is spent on waste disposal every year. Instead, if we are willing to spend Rs 10-15 crores on putting up Miyawaki forests as borders separating small blocks of dumping grounds – like the paths we see in Delhi during Republic Day parades from aerial shots – we will get good results very quickly.
In three to four years, the trees will grow up to 40 feet. Birds like the eagle will arrive and eat whatever waste they can. Even if there is a fire outbreak, only one block will be affected. We will get enough time to contain the fire. This is a point that all of us should think about. I feel it will be successful. We spend a lot of money on waste management. Instead of having one huge dumping yard, if we are willing to break it up into small blocks and raise trees in between, we will be able to prevent fires from burning for days on end.