Recently, the news of China building a whole vertical forest city went viral, and rightly so! That's such an innovative way to combat pollution. And seems like India is also catching up a little bit.

Bangalore has added another green pillar in the city in order to reduce pollution while also improving the cityscape. Now, there are two of these pillars at the Electronic City Flyover along the Hosur Road stretch.

© Saytree/Facebook

This has all been done by Saytree, an NGO, who helped in erecting vertical gardens on the pillars along Hosur Road.

© Saytree/Facebook

Durgesh Agrahari, head of partnership and projects of Saytree, said, “The idea behind constructing vertical gardens was to make the city landscape aesthetic and at the same time reduce air pollution. The journey has not been easy since we installed our first on a pillar in March this year.”

© Saytree/Facebook

To achieve sustainable pillars, the NGO began by experimenting with around 20-25 saplings of different varieties to understand the adaptability of the plants in a harsh environment, especially during peak traffic hours.

© Saytree/Facebook

With this initial experimental project, the team learned that about 90% of the saplings were able to adapt well. “We also had issues with maintenance of the structure. Irrigating the plants was a problem, especially after we realised some people were stealing the motors that pumped water for the gardens. For the pilot, we used plastic pots and learned that a lot of our saplings were being stolen,” said Agrahari.

© Saytree/Facebook

The NGO also decided to use a special platform made of wood, instead of using plastic to make it even more eco-friendly, and simultaneously reducing the chance of the saplings being stolen.

© Saytree/Facebook

To ensure better survival of the plants, the NGO has also improvised an irrigation method. The whole project is part of a corporate social responsibility of a leading IT firm. If there is one thing that we need more of in India it's these kinds of environmentally friendly buildings.