5,000 sandalwood trees turn ASC Centre verdant

5,000 sandalwood trees turn ASC Centre verdant
S Praveen Dhaneshkar, Bangalore,DH News Service:
Thursday, June 04, 2009, 12:00 [IST]

Hidden from the public glare, the City-based Army Service Corps (ASC) Centre and College (South) has set an example in eco-preservation by converting its sprawling 720 acre campus on HAL airport road into a home for as many as 5,000 sandalwood trees, a variety of birds and floral plants.


Lt Gen G S Dhillon, the commandant of the ASC Centre and College (South) explained the transformation to Deccan Herald, “We are carrying out the duty of nurturing these trees over and above our regular tasks. The sandalwood trees at the campus comprise big and small varieties. The oldest of them is around 25 years old. The birds that have made the ASC campus their home also act as a natural pollinating agent for sandalwood trees.”

A premier training institution of the Indian Army, the ASC Centre is the oldest and largest logistics support training wing for the army and has its origins in the days of the East India Company. The Bangalore centre established in 1947 caters to transport logistics, carrying supplies, ranging from arms and ammunition to food and clothing for the army. While there are instances of sandalwood trees being prey to thieves elsewhere in the City, the ASC Centre being an Army unit, provides the much needed safe protection zone to these precious trees. In addition to this, the ASC campus at Iblur, spread across 500 acres also houses sandalwood trees.

Added Lt Gen Dhillon, “There is no separate garden wing of the ASC Centre. The jawans are trained to carry out landscaping of the area and maintenance of trees along with the day-to-day tasks performed by them. Trees are our natural heritage. We have a duty to preserve them for posterity”

Very soon, the ASC Centre (North) located on a 600 acre campus at Gaya in Bihar would be moved to Bangalore and merged with the ASC Centre and College (South) after clearance from Army HQ.