Paragon Town
Half an hour’s drive away from the capital city Chandigarh and tucked away in the serene surroundings of famous Shivalik mountain range, Pinjore soothes the eyes of visitors. The very first thing that attracts the attention of the visitor is greenery spread all across the town. Known for its famous 17th century Yadavindra gardens, the town has all the modern facilities to accommodate the populace.
Stroll through the town and one will find children hopping around mango trees, a sight very rare in most of the cities of India. Pinjore with a population of 25,498 is one of the most desirable places to live in North India. One will not find any home without a tree or two. People here have a strong penchant to grow plants, especially mango tree outside their homes.
Vishwanath Purohit, a teacher and resident of the town tells more, “The town has tradition of growing gardens from the Mughal period itself. However, development is taking place in the town as well, but people here with their strong love for trees avoid felling any of the existing trees and build homes only in the areas, where there is no plantation. We encourage our youth to plant more trees, so that we can leave a green and clean Pinjore for our coming generations.”
The town has a sizeable number of mango trees, so mango festival is held here every year in July; during this festival, growers from all over the region come display mouth-watering varieties of this 'King of Fruits.
Gurmail Singh Dhankar, Forest officer Pinjore shares more, “The secret behind this green belt is Punjab Land Preservation Act which restricts residents as well as developers and protect this existing forest cover. Pinjore is set over 1800 feet above the sea level and needs trees at the ridges to hold soil erosion. Though, builders are pressing hard but the forest department has halted them from disfiguring this beautiful town.”
With every passing year, forest cover is getting thinner and this is a cause of worry for everyone including policy makers, environmental activists, and parents. Climate change is a buzzword of this century. One can find news channels echoing concern over depleting natural resources and increasing natural disasters as consequences of this imbalance in the nature.
What meets the eyes in Delhi and other metro cities of India are high-rise concrete buildings and malls. However trees do exist in these cities as well but there, numbers are low.
Now days, when more and more cities are in the race to become ‘developed’ this town stands tall among all others, forwarding a lesson to the population to go for more green space to avert the ongoing climate hazards.
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