Mayor Tarun Chatterjee has decided to fill the historical Budha Talab. Ecologists said that ponds were being filled at a time when the focus should have been on recharging water levels. Reckless extraction of water from below the ground level is stated to be the reason for Chhattisgarh's infertile soil. The region's soil is of the red-yellow variety and lacks potassium, phosphorous and nitrogen, essential for good crop. Experts believe that the soil is of the Bhatta kind and does not retain water.
Agriculturists advise the use of traditional and time-tested seeds for paddy.
Farmers instead were using new seeds, resulting in low yields, they said. Though the forests have abundance of tropical medicinal plants, little work had been done in identifying these plants, ecologists said. The aluminium silicate surface is another problem. Experts hope that tarred roads can cut down on this menace.