Bihar town is India's first 'green city'

Bhabua, district headquarters of Bihar’s Kaimur district, was officially declared “green city” on Thursday. It is arguably the first town in the world where all the buildings on the main thoroughfares have been painted green.

The idea to paint the town green and make it environment-friendly was mooted by District Magistrate of Kaimur, Arvind Kumar Singh, who took a leaf out of Jaipur’s “pink city” book. Jaipur was painted pink on the royal orders of Sawai dynasty in 1878, to welcome the Prince of Wales.

In the month of September last, Singh convened a meeting of elected representatives and prominent citizens of the town and suggested to make Bhabua “green and clean”.

In less than four months of his appeal, the locals carried out the image makeover plan. The entire cost of painting was borne by the owners of respective houses on main roads, and not the district administration. This was one of the rare examples of community leadership, mutual cooperation and understanding in the caste-ridden state. 

Eventually, encroachments from government land were removed, while brick-layered footpaths were constructed on both sides. A city park was also constructed, besides the renovation of the Jagjiwan Stadium.

After the Nagar Parishad (district council) on Thursday officially declared Bhabua “green city”, Singh reportedly contacted the Limca Book of Records to get the achievement included in the book. “Nearly 136 years after the pink city came into being, we have today a green city in Bihar. The move is likely to make a positive impact on tourists coming from far off places,” said Singh, who earlier had set an example of saving fuel by going to office on foot.