Lalbagh gets tree wardens, guides

Lalbagh gets tree wardens, guides
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The Lalbagh Botanical Garden officials called upon peoples participation to protect the sprawling 240 acres of area rich in botanical value and historical background.

Keeping this idea and vision, Lalbagh officials introduced 30 tree wardens and 10 tourist guides on Monday. To facilitate the visitors and make their visit comfortable, a cloak room to house their luggage was also inaugurated at the Entrance of the East gate.

Next week, the officials will rope in school children for a clean up drive in the garden. Director of Horticulture GK Vasant Kumar told mediapersons that the move would go a long way in creating awareness among students about ecological protection.

Kumar said,‘‘the garden attracts around 15000 tourists and due this increase the amount of plastic and hazardous and bio-degradable waste has caused a major disposable problem for the garden maintenance staff, even though Karnataka Pollution Control Board has designated Lalbagh a ‘plastic free zone.’’

Around 1,000 students from PES Institute for four days will involve themselves in activities like gardening, bird watching, erecting guards around rare species of trees. It will be followed by 800 students from Vijaya High School and College and nearly 2,000 students from Lion’s Club and NGO’S.

The tree wardens were issued id cards from the regular walkers. Kumar said, the tree wardens will create an awareness among the visitors to be disciplined and protect the plant wealth. Their responsibility will be to educate the public to follow the rules and keep the garden clean, he added.

The appointment of guides will update visitors about its history, plant wealth and important landmarks in the garden.

The cloak room was inaugurated by Founder Chairman of PES Group of Institutions, Prof MR Doreswamy. PES College had presented it as a goodwill gesture. Visitors can avail this facility from 10 am to 6 pm on all days. It is free of cost in the initial stage.

For advance booking for guides tourists can contact the Deputy Director of Horticulture on 26578184.