Bengaluru: It is common for Silicon City people to visit tourist spots in the Western Ghats during the rainy season, but what if these Western Ghats are built in Bengaluru itself. The state Government is thinking of such a scheme.
Plans are afoot to build mini Western Ghats at Lalbagh, a major tourist destination in Bengaluru. For this, Horticulture Department officials have come forward to grow different species of trees grown in Sahyadri area on six acres of barren land.
Biodiversity expert Keshava Murthy said, “Two years ago, more than 190 species of saplings were brought from Sahyadri area and planted. Of these, 132 plants, including some fruit saplings, have survived,” he said.
More than 400 species of saplings from the Western Ghats of Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru and Kodagu Districts have been planted at Lalbagh.
As part of this, Horticulture Minister S. S. Mallikarjun, Noted Environmentalist Dr. Yellappa Reddy and Former Advisor to the Karnataka Government on Educational Reforms M. R. Doreswamy planted a symbolic sapling at Lalbagh Rock Garden near Siddapura.
The Horticulture Department staff, who have been working on soil fertility for the past two years, planted 400 saplings brought from Sahyadri Hill with the help of student volunteers.
In the coming days, small ponds will also be created for improvement of aquatic life and groundwater level, which will lead to the growth of trees, said Keshav Murthy.
Horticulture Officials informed that shrubs and herbal plants of the Western Ghats will be added in the coming days.