The Hindu : New Delhi News : Weeds fast making Ridge their home

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 03, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Weeds fast making Ridge their home

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

Pose a grave danger to the already abused green lung of the Capital

NEW DELHI: It's a dangerous touch of exotica that is chocking the city's green lung. A recent stock taking of the growing weed population in the reserved green area of the Capital revealed that American weeds are rapidly becoming naturalised in the Ridge as undergrowth choking native vegetation and fast working their way to becoming the dominant species in the forest.

According to this recent research paper, over 25 exotic varieties of weeds have been identified that are known to be fast spreading and have previously created problem even in their native and adopted homes.

The weed species that are fast making the Ridge their home including "parthenium", "acanthospermum hispidum", "croton bonplandianum" and "synedrella vialis".

Speaking about the "imported" weed invasion witnessed in the Ridge area, National Co-ordinator of the National Agricultural Innovation Project, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, N.T. Yaduraju, says: "The problem occurs when foreign weeds colonise and slowly establish themselves in green space and do not allow the natural vegetation to flourish. What has us worried is the negative impact that this growing weed population can have on human health. A classic example is `parthenium' that causes trouble for people with asthma and other breathing disorders. Weeds also have a tendency to try and acquire as much space as possible and spreads to other areas."

Experts claim that weeds are no strangers to the city's green lung, which is home to several indigenous species of plants. Delhi Ridge is one of the key producers of oxygen and spreads from Delhi University in the north, stretching southward to Dhaula Kuan from Central Delhi and passes along the Cantonment area from South to West Delhi. It also has presence in Mehrauli and Tughlaqabad.

"The already abused Ridge has been putting up a stiff fight to remain green and its trouble seems to have increased manifolds now with the native and exotic weeds invading its space. The Ridge has also been abused in terms of space being used for building illegal structures in the area and dumping by builders. Several private builders too are looking at the space for commercial purpose and it is becoming increasing difficult to allow the indigenous plant population to stay and grow," says Vikaram Soni, an environmentalist spearheading a movement to protect the Ridge.

Experts in the Forest and Wildlife Department, Delhi, add that there is little that can be done to protect the Ridge from being invaded by weeds. "The weeds that have been identified are the fast spreading variety. When they find the conditions favourable they flourishes and spread to other areas in the city," says an official.

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