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Where is Zuarinagar?
It is in Goa, the smallest state in India, and perhaps the most beautiful. It's capital is Panjim. Zuarinagar is south of Panjim, about 4 kilometres from Dabolim airport. It is on a peninsula - with the Arabian Sea on one side, and the Zuari river on the other. The nearest town is Vasco-da-Gama, and the nearest harbours are Marmugao and Vasco. Zuarinagar was a desolate stretch of rocky laterite land in 1974, when construction of the fertilizer plant began. Today, this 1,100 acres of land is probably the largest man-made forest in India. The complex has more than 100 varieties of trees and shrubs, and these have been artificially planted to turn the place into a green haven. The Goa University carried out a vegetation mapping of the plant complex and published a study. The report says,"This formerly rocky plateau is slowly turning into a balanced eco-system where both plant and animal communities could co-exist and replenish for their nourishment." Some of our old timers tell us about planting the trees. For each tree, a deep hole had to be drilled into the rock. Then soil was brought in by the truckload and then the sapling could be planted.. If the hole was not made deep enough, the adult tree keeled over during a monsoon storm, because the roots remained shallow. The banyan tree in the picture was a young plant when the factory was being built. It was saved by a caring and concerned management, and is a handsome tree today.
Acknowledgement: 'Trees of Zuarinagar'-text and photographs by Shri R.G.Desai, published by Zuari Agro Industries. If you have any old memories about Zuarinagar, a feedback is welcome.
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