‘Bangalore should fight to retain Garden City tag’

‘Bangalore should fight to retain Garden City tag’

Staff Reporter
Urban trees need careful nurturing to survive, says expert
Trees cannot grow on their own

BBMP to improve 183 lakes

BANGALORE: Providing a bio-aesthetic look for Bangalore with retention of green cover appears to be on the agenda of the town planners.

At a seminar on Beautification and Environment Development of Bangalore City, organised by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Lalbagh here on Wednesday, K.C. Sharma, former Director of Horticulture at New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), who delivered the keynote address, said: “Three cities in India — Bangalore, New Delhi and Chandigarh — have a garden city character, but they are losing it with shrinking parks and disappearing trees.”

Trees need care
“In urban areas, trees cannot be left to grow on their own. Branches need to be cut periodically to ensure their growth in a symmetrical way.”

Among other measures, he said: “Trees need to be washed, tree guards removed after a certain period and they should be ridden of parasites. Proper aeration should be provided to them.”

Breathing space
Trees in Bangalore were planted too close to each other, which restricts breathing space.

All these, he pointed out, were “small but very important steps” that could increase their lifespan.

Mr. Sharma said: “Some 90 per cent of the saplings die within a year of plantation. Trees need to be at least four to five feet tall to survive. Instead of planting lakhs of trees, plant 10,000 right and see the difference.”

Plans
BBMP Commissioner Bharatlal Meena said that there was a need to attach more value to Bangalore’s sobriquet of Garden City.

Reiterating BBMP’s makeover plans for the city, he said a survey was being undertaken to improve 183 lakes, and fencing work had already started.

He outlined BBMP’s interest in building theme parks in open spaces.

Souvenir released
Earlier, releasing a souvenir on developed parks, traffic islands and other horticultural activities of BBMP, Transport Minister R. Ashok said that funding was not a problem, but public support and awareness were needed to carry on such projects.

Chickpet MLA Hemachandra Sagar released BBMP’s brochure on parks.