Parks to double up as nurseries

Parks to double up as nurseries
Prathima Nandakumar | TNN

Bangalore: Wondering what plants to grow in your terrace garden — roses or chrysanthemums, medicinal or ornamental plants? If BBMP’s Green Plan takes shape, you can just walk up to your neighbourhood park and pick the right plants for your garden. By 2008, the BBMP hopes to develop 25 ‘diffused nurseries’ in the newly added zones of Greater Bangalore.
Also, the parks will double up as local vermicompost units and centres for gardening workshops. The city’s greening plan will be implemented in 25 parks in five stages under the JN-NURM with a funding of Rs 40 crore. Later, the plan will be extended to all the 800-odd parks in the city, said BBMP commissioner S Subramanya.
The detailed project report, awaiting Centre’s approval, pushes for integrated recycling of kitchen waste and vermicomposting. “We want people to walk up to the parks and deposit their kitchen waste, which will be processed into manure. The nurseries will have a range of saplings — both medicinal and ornamental plants to promote greenery,’’ said Krishna Udapudi, a tree officer.
The department is developing a concept to replace manicured lawns with trees and a variety of plant species, as these parks help improve air quality and do not need a lot of water and maintenance like lawns and gardens. Trees will be planted in all the parks and open spaces.
“Parks will also emerge as a one-stop shop to encourage social forestry. Apart from jogging tracks, play areas and nurseries, we will also set up help points to disseminate information on the types and species of plants suitable for urban homes, terrace gardens and common plots,’’ said Udapudi. A team of horticulture experts will man the kiosks and give tips on gardening, while a separate unit will handle the kitchen waste, which is segregated at source (houses). “We can prevent useful waste from being dumped in the landfills along with hazardous material. There is a growing demand for manure and it can help us raise small funds for upkeep of parks and gardens,’’ an official said.
GREEN PARKS
Mahadevapura — AECS Layout Park, HAL Quarters Park, HAL Park, Vengaiyanakere Park, Ramamurthynagar East NGEF Park Byatarayanapura — HBR Layout Brindavan Nagar, Sahakarnagar Main Road Park, CIL Extension Police Station Road Park, Yelahanka Sector A Park, Sector B Park Dasarahalli — Gruhalaxmi Layout (2 parks) and MEI layout Bagalgunte (3 parks) Bommanahalli — Iblur Temple Park, Singasandra Park, Kodichikkanahalli, Harkeri Mico Layout, Harkeri Government School parks Rajarajeshwarinagar — Nagarbavi MPM Layout, Nagarbavi 14th Block, 9th Crs, Subramanyanagar