Spot of green in grey

Spot of green in grey
Samatha V

The fresh yellow and orange marigold flowers at K R Circle have suddenly added an aesthetic touch to the City, reminding one of Old Bangalore.

The fresh yellow and orange marigold flowers at K R Circle have suddenly added an aesthetic touch to the City, reminding one of Old Bangalore. The enhanced traffic islands near the Golf Course and the one in Cauvery Junction have also broken the monotonous look of the roads. And that is something to smile about for Bangaloreans.

The BBMP has been taking initiatives to transform the roadsides, medians and traffic islands into greener, colourful spots. Flowering plants are being embedded in the green lawns of the traffic islands and medians, along with pebbles, carved-out rocks and artistic fountains. Says Saveen Hegde, a mechanical engineer, “It’s really good to see flowers and greenery on grey roads as it breaks the monotony. The City is beginning to look multi-coloured and bright.”

The BBMP authorities say, “The greening of the traffic islands and medians all over the City is part of the beautification of urban space and it is happening in a phased manner.”

They have chosen roses, jerberas, carnations, chrysanthemums, lily flowers, marigold, anthoriums, elephant grass and Mexican grass to transform the traffic islands and medians and make it eye-catching. The fragrances from these flowers welcome you to take a look at them. The arrangement of these flowers is systematically planned and executed.

Akshay Heblikar, Director of Eco Watch, says, “These ornamental plants definitely contribute to the aesthetic sense of the City. They are very attractive and look decorative. At the same time, indigenous species belonging to this place should not be forgotten. Bangalore has many other wild plants which are native. Instead of using the same flowers everywhere, they should also use native plants along with these decorative plants. A 50-50 pattern, that is 50 per cent of native plants and 50 per cent of decorative plants, would add more colour to the City,” he adds. The greening process is also a good outdoor recreation and it meets the ecological needs as well as abates the stress of urban living.

“The new beautified traffic islands at junctions is a beautiful idea to make the City look cool. It is a refreshing change and helps in protecting the environment too. The effort is highly commendable. We hope to see this kind of work in other locations, especially in the busy traffic centres like M G Road and Airport Road. Another good idea would be to attach environment-protection advertisements to the traffic islands,” suggests Mohan Krishna, a software engineer.