Puducherry Botanical Garden gets new life on Earth Day

Earth Day revived the fortunes of the once-famous  Botanical Garden in Puducherry. The garden which has been in a dilapidated state got a new lease of life as Kiran Bedi, Lieutenant Governor, decided to lead her entourage of officials to the garden on Sunday morning as part of her weekend rounds.

April 22 being the Earth Day, the Lieutenant Governor made her officials to revamp the garden and also enlisted the services of volunteers from various schools, colleges and NGOs in the Union Territory for the mission. By the time Bedi left the garden, it bore a new look as the volunteers who were divided into various groups took up assignments like planting of saplings, cleaning the ground and a group of students paining the walls with eco-friendly pictures.

“It is mother earth who gives us food, clothing and shelter and we have the responsibility to respect her. Preserving the nature without any harm is one way of doing it,” she told the volunteers. The Raj Niwas authorities in association with the Government officials set up  13 volunteer groups for the upkeep of the Botanical Garden and each group assigned tasks to make it an ever green garden so that it could regain its status as an important tourist attraction in the union territory.

“Identity cards would be issued to all members of the volunteer groups so that they can enter the garden without paying any entry fee and they would ensure its maintenance  with the cooperation of the staff members,” said one of the Raj Niwas officials. Director of Agriculture would form a social media site and interact with all members of the volunteer groups by assigning them specific tasks for the maintenance of the garden.

Even as she was taking a tour in the garden, Bedi drew out an eight-point road map to resuscitate the  pristine beauty of the Botanical Garden which included daily Light and Sound Show for attracting tourists and visitors. The women who had come as members of volunteer groups were in for a surprise as Bedi asked her officials to involve then farming operations with the help of National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD).