Urban forest to bring a breath of fresh air at Maha Kumbh

LUCKNOW: The ‘nagar van' in Prayagraj aims to ensure that devotees coming to Maha Kumbh get clean air to breathe.
The social forestry wing of the forest department has established a high-density plantation near the mela region. This nagar van, or urban forest, will act as a ‘carbon sink', absorbing and storing harmful carbon compounds from the air and making it clean.
Read more: Maha Kumbh Mela 2025
The 20-hectare high-density plantation was established close to the mela area over the last one-and-a-half years by the forest department.
Though the trees in the patch are not all fully grown, they have stabilised by now, said Arvind Yadav, DFO of Prayagraj. The green belt has 4,356 trees planted per hectare in proximity, making it more than 87,000 trees on a 20-hectare land. "It will act as a carbon sink," said the official.
To make it sustainable, local species have been planted, which will grow well in local soil and climate.
The plantation has different layers of greens, as trees of varying heights and canopy density have been planted. The concept was introduced by the UP govt in its annual plantation drive in 2024-25. Urban forests are trees planted in close proximity to raise high-density plantations within city limits.