Devrai-style green areas to come up at three spots

To develop green patches on similar lines,the garden department has identified three pieces of land,an eight-acre mango grove near Abhiruchi on Sinhagad Road,a patch of 17-acre land in Yerawada reserved for a bird sanctuary and an acre of land in Viman Nagar near Symbiosis Institute campus.

Naresh Zurmure,chief garden superintendent with PMC,said,“We already have 110 gardens with lawns and flower plants and several species of trees. When we started thinking of these three areas to be reserved as green belts in the development plan,an idea struck to develop them on the lines of sacred groves. A fund of around 1.5 crore has been allocated for this development. The groves would be ready by mid-2012.”

The garden department is planning to plant indigenous medicinal plants and Nakshatra trees associated with zodiac signs. “All these would be local species. On Sinhagad Road,there is already a fully grown mango grove with some other old trees. Along with adding indigenous plant varieties we would also create a conducive environment for birds and insects by creating ponds and taking measures to maintain soil moisture levels,” Zurmure said and added,“In Yerawada,on the 17-acre land,there is already a riverside bird sanctuary. We will develop it on the lines of Devrai. No construction will be allowed on these lands and not a single existing plant would be touched. To make it a community conserved area in the real sense we would be involving people’s organisations in the management of groves.”

Once the groves are ready,visits would be organised in the form of guided trails though the number of visitors per day would be limited. Veteran environmental scientist and natural historian Madhav Gadgil said,“Developing such protected groves within the city limits is not impossible. One such experiment was successful in Bangalore. The authorities must take into consideration all elements of ecological balance and should find ways to manage public access to the place.”