Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden & Research Institute

Thiruvananthapuram

The temperature dips inside the dense expanse of greenery inside the 300-acre Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden & Research Institute (JNTBGRI) at Thiruvananthapuram. The murmur of the Chittar River is never far away inside the garden, which is unique in Asia for its number of conservatories and large collection of nearly 50,000 plants consisting of rare ferns, cacti, trees, plants with medicinal properties and orchids.

“We have both in situ conservatories and ex situ conservation in the natural forests that are part of the garden,” says Dr R Prakashkumar, Director, JNTBGRI.

“Genetic resources are mixed with the natural flora. That is the beauty of it. For instance, we have collected rare endemic trees of India and we plant those in the verdant forests in the garden. We have a separate conservatory for orchids. During the lockdown, we have put an automated misting system for the ferns. Since there are no visitors, we were able to undertake maintenance as well as research. We were able to identify certain anti-viral properties in a plant that seem to work in the case of chikungunya and dengue. The Central Government’s nod is awaited for further research.”

Prakashkumar adds conventional and non-conventional propagation of fruiting trees and plants have also been going on. A plan to provide good orchid planting material to horticulturalists, train them and help them earn an income has also been worked on.

Saraswathy Nagarajan

Eco Park

Madurai

A green lung for the temple town, Madurai Corporation’s Ecological Park has been free from its 1,500 daily visitors for the last one month. Established in 1999, over five acres, the Eco Park was expanded in 2004 and renovated in 2013 with illuminated optic fibre trees, walking trails, sculptures and installations made from scrap and a musical fountain that spewed water up to a height of 110 feet. All these additions turned the Eco Park into a popular hangout. It also played host for the annual Madurai Art Fest.

Even though the park is temporarily closed, the staff is busy. The park is home to 300 medicinal plants and over 750 varieties of trees. “The flora needs to be maintained,” says S Visakan, the Corporation Commissioner. “A reduced team of workers is regularly watering, weeding and pruning the plants. Periodically, the herbal garden is defumigated.”

The concrete tank inside the park which had fallen into disuse due to scarcity of water is being cleaned to get it boating ready. “We intend to fill it up with rain water harvested from the Corporation office’s roof top. We are also planning to start two open air gyms and work is afoot on this right now.”

Soma Basu

Changampuzha Samskarika Kendram

Kochi

The Changampuzha Samskarika Kendram has been silent since March 13. Over the years, the non-profit cultural trust, which functions out of the Changampuzha Park in Edappally, has grown to be one of the most active of performance spaces in Kochi.

“Last year, we held over 480 programmes over 365 days,” says Dr C V Mohan Bose, president of the Kendram. Most of the performances are held in an open-air auditorium. “We have amplifiers and a good sound system that makes the audio visual experience a seamless one for the audience. We thought we could use the lockdown to fix leaks.” Covering an area of over one-and-a-half acres, with a wealth trees, the Park requires constant maintenance. “Based on the Government directives, we will carry out basic maintenance works,” says Bose.

When it re-opens, the seating arrangements would factor in social distancing norms, says Bose. At present, the auditorium can accommodate about 600 people. “We are yet to draw up a plan regarding our future activities. Only the performances have stopped, we are continuing our literary events, such as aksharashlokam (an entertaining poetic war of words) on social media platforms.”

Anasuya Menon

Tropical Butterfly Conservatory (TBCT)

Tiruchi

Irrespective of the lockdown, the winged workers of Asia’s largest such facility, also known as the Butterfly Park, have been doing their thing. The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has maintained the gardens on the 10-acre campus with a reduced staff team since lockdown.

The over-300 plant varieties here are divided into those conducive for nectar collection, hosting and roosting. They need watering and weeding and that is what the staff is doing. The cultivation of the Indian heliotrope, a nectar plant that is known to attract at least 12 species of butterflies has been in focus this year, says D Sujatha, Tiruchi District Forest Officer. “We have segregated the conservatory gardens into 10 sections, and our field staff takes care of each zone in rotation,” she explains.

Over 50 resident species and 98 migrant varieties of butterflies may be spotted here at any given time. So far 109 winged visitors have been recorded, with the summer months likely to attract species like Wild Jay, Common Wanderer, Common Silverline, White Tiger and Common Leopard.

At the in-house incubation laboratory, Junior Research Fellows have been studying the progress of the insect’s four stages of metamorphosis … egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (transition), and the adult butterfly. In keeping with the Wildlife Protection Act, the lab is allowed to rear only non-scheduled butterflies.

Nahla Nainar

IKEA junction

Hyderabad

Two thousand square meters of land near Hyderabad’s IKEA triangular junction in the IT corridor has come alive thanks to Hyderabad Metropolitan Authority Development’s (HMDA) efforts. HMDA has spent the lockdown to beautifying the area. A teddy bear family made of corton steel, two 800-year-old olive trees, bollards, carved natural stone sculptures and a manicured lawn are part of the facelift.

Ramdev Rao, managing director of Unique Trees that conceptualised the design, says, “We wanted a new look —one that would improve city’s aesthetic value.” He claims it is the first time in India that these corten steel sculptures are being installed. The steel looks rusted but will not get damaged for 100 years, he adds. Also coming up at the other side of triangular park is a Cat Circle with giant-size Corten steel cats.

The lockdown has helped this project in unexpected ways. Moving their stuff was easy during the lockdown period and around 40 labourers (following social distancing rules) worked on it. The project cost came down too thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ramdev hopes, “Once the lockdown lifts, Hyderabadis will come here with their families, relax and take selfies!”

Neeraja Murthy

Lalbagh, Cubbon Park

Bengaluru

Lockdown has come as a blessing to the 240 acres of trees at the Lalbagh Botanical Garden. The State Horticuture Department officials have taken the opportunity to give the trees a health check up. Dr. M Jagadeesh, Joint Director, Parks & Gardens, Lalbagh, Department of Horticulture says, “We have a tree surgery squad made up of senior department officials, tree researchers and scientists. Senior scientist, tree expert and author Dr AN Yellappa Reddy, former Administrator of Forests; and senior horticulturist SV Hittalmani are on our panel of advisors. Our attention will be to make the trees look fuller and healthier and have them grounded safely,” says Jagadeesh. “We want to document the health of the trees and their growth pattern. A project like this requires this kind of time,” he adds.

The most vulnerable trees are on the periphery of the garden facing the road and they will be removed. Some of the sickly ones inside too will be cut. The trees that are attacked by fungus will either have the affected branches cut or treated with an anti-fungal solution. Some trees will be pruned for safety. Explaining this, Reddy says, “In a forest, the withered branches break and fall and become a home or source of food for a million species. In a controlled man-made eco-system, however, it is dangerous and can harm people.”

The 198-acre Cubbon Park created in 1870 in the city’s CBD is also using the lockdown to check the health of its trees. “We are looking at maintenance and have already taken permission for it,” says Kusuma G, Deputy Director, Horticulture, Cubbon Park. “Twenty-five gardeners are pruning and re-planting trees.”

Of the 150 Polyalthia Longifolia or Indian Ashoka trees, 13 trees near the Queen Victoria statue were removed as they were completely dry. “We have replaced them with the same saplings. At other places, these trees were pruned to make them healthier.”

The Cubbon Park lawn space near Hudson Circle is also getting a make-over. “We have replanted the lawn, shrubs and bushes. The recent rains have made it the ideal time to replant.”

Kusuma says the park has about 8000 plants and trees. “We have nearly 25 silver oak trees that are 150-year-old. They were the first oaks introduced to Bangalore from Australia. Other trees include mango, jackfruit, cherry fruit, Java fig, passion fruit, Artocarpus from South-east Asian and Pacific regions belonging to the mulberry family, cassia fistula and Ficus. The exotics include mahogany, chestnut, gulmohar, neelgiri, jacaranda and millettia. Shrubs such as bougainvillea and climbers such as red jade vine are popular for their texture and shades.”

Ranjani Govind