The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Mission to promote bird diversity

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 13, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Mission to promote bird diversity

M. Raghuram

Three organisations launch a campaign to plant saplings in Cubbon Park

— Photo: G.P. Sampath Kumar

Rare sight: A kingfisher at the Cubbon Park in Bangalore.

BANGALORE: When the Lodhi Gardens in Central Delhi began losing greenery, ornithologists hit upon an idea that trees there could be a good nestling place for birds. Subsequently, the managing committee of the Lodhi Gardens Residents’ Association launched a movement for planting fruit-bearing trees which brought back birds to the Lodhi Gardens.

A similar situation appears to be threatening birds in the Cubbon Park in Bangalore. The park looks lush green and flush with life, but the bird diversity is not as good as it was in the past.

Alarmed by this, Cubbon Park Mithra Sangha, Prakruti, and Jeevan Mukti Dhama have taken up a sapling-planting campaign in the Cubbon Park with a mission to strengthen the bird diversity in the area.

As a beginning, Jeevan Mukti Dhama has identified some local fruit-bearing tree species for planting in the Cubbon Park area.

Convenor of Jeevan Mukti Dhama Shivashankar said that he was raising saplings of fruit-bearing trees in his nursery on Mysore Road.

Saplings would be procured from the Horticulture Department for planting in isolated areas in the park. “The most suitable species are nelli (amla), sampige (champa), honge, wild jamun (nerale), and tamarind (hunase) which will give enough food for birds,” he said.

Member of the Cubbon Park Mithra Sangha C.K. Narendranath said that the sangha was ready to offer help to the campaign.

Parts of the park were going grey.

Saplings of fruit-bearing trees could be planted in those areas. The sangha would support the project.

The bird sightings in the park had come down, he said.

Horticulture officials said that it was true that the park had only a few fruit-bearing trees that could support the bird diversity. They said that their nursery had saplings of many fruit-bearing tree species that could be planted in the park.

The Horticulture Department was ready to offer help in this direction.

Jeevan Mukti Dhama is distributing free saplings to the visitors to the park and guiding them on planting them.

They are flower-bearing and shade trees as they shelter small rodents and insects. The trees that are favourable to this condition are jakaranda, dali kardone, liri siri doma, nagalinga and candle. The dhama distributes at least 100 saplings to the people during weekends near the Band Stand.

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