New attractions at Lalbagh

New attractions at Lalbagh
Sunday April 27 2008 10:43 IST

Jyothi Raghuram
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BANGALORE: Some 20 acres of rocky terrain will be converted into a decorative green space of shrubs and miniature species strewn with pebbles, with curving pathways running through it.

This exclusive, landscaped patch will also have aesthetic lighting, K Ramakrishnappa, Director of Horticulture told this website’s newspaper.

A natural valley adjoining this garden will be divided into different parts to create a water body with zig zag waterways, where exotic aquatic plants, lighting, and colourful flower beds will be the highlights.

The Lalbagh pond, which has been in the news recently for efforts to make it pollution-free, will have patches of `vetever'grass on it, mounted on bamboo sticks.

Vetever grass is known to absorb toxins and this is part of the efforts to make Lalbagh pollution-free.

The entire tank bund is also to be developed into a garden. A 'shade garden' with a variety of flowers that would bloom throughout the year, is also planned, he said.

Bio-diversity is another thrust area, and 300 new varieties of plants will be added before the monsoon, in addition to the existing 2,454 species of plants and shrubs.

Lalbagh, which already has over 7,000 trees, could then serve as a scientific platform for botanical studies, where levels of oxygen release, animal and bird life--as dependent on certain plant species and fruit-bearing trees etc could be observed, Jagadish, Deputy Director of Horticulture said.

Saplings are being imported from countries such as Australia, and from centres such as the French Botanical Garden in Auroville, Puducherry.

Battery-operated, eco-friendly vehicles to take visitors around, jeevamritha or organic nutrient extract, and scientific tree-surgery to increase a tree's life span, besides making the garden free of hawkers, are the steps taken to make it an ideal environmental venture, said Jagadish.