The Prisons Department is set to extend its Miyawaki forest programme to 55 more jails in the State. The first of the Miyawaki forests is coming up on land that was lying idle at District Jail here.
Director General of Prisons Rishiraj Singh inaugurated the formal planting of the Miyawaki forest on World Environment Day on Friday.
Gandhi Smrithivanam
The forest will be named ‘Gandhi Smrithivanam’ in connection with the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi.
It is coming up on 20 cents that had been set aside by the District Jail for waste management. It was on October 2 last year that the inmates started preparing the swampy land for planting the forest.
The boundaries were also marked. Then planting of diverse flora, including trees and medicinal plants, got under way with the support of the inmates and officials.
Technical support
The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) at Palode were also approached for saplings and technical support.
Over 1,000 saplings of diverse trees, creeper, medicinal plants, and other flora, besides 50 saplings of bamboo of different varieties have also been planted.
The JNTBGRI and the KSBB have agreed to help with the maintenance of the forest and prepare information on the flora for the benefit of visitors, a statement from the District Jail here said.