Sivaji Park, one of the major parks in the city that suffered extensive loss with more than 60 per cent of its trees damaged by cyclone Hudhud, has been restored with the efforts of the horticulture wing of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC).
The park spread over 16.52 acres had been a beehive of activity with visitors of all age groups and a favourite of morning-walkers in the neighbourhood before Hudhud struck felling 721 of its 1171 trees. Ashoka (91 trees), peltophorium (pachha turayi) (90), coconut (60), bambax (burugu) (36), jacaranda (neela kanchanam) (32) and badam/terminalia (22) trees accounted for the major loss.
The trees were between 30 ft and 40 ft of height and many of them had a girth of 1.5 ft to 2 ft, according to officials.
Exploring the possibility of reviving them, 60 trees, mainly Asoka and “pachha turayi,” uprooted by 50 per cent, have been restored. The other trees that fell were removed from the park.
After that about 350 saplings, including vepa, badam, and ravi , have been planted. The remaining have not been taken up to allow arrangement of play equipment, says Assistant Director, Horticulture, GVMC, M. Damodara Rao. The park was restored in the third week of November.
“We are planning to go in for shrubs and plants that flower round the year after the play equipment is set up,” adds Mr. Damodara Rao. Among them are devakanchanam, tabobia rosea and urgentia.