Smart city mission: Herbal park to come up in Anna Nagar

Trichy: The civic body has identified Anna Nagar, under K Abishekapuram zone, to establish the first herbal park in the city, under the smart city mission initiative. The space identified for the park is located in Bharathiyar Nagar in Anna Nagar falling under ward number 50.
The space identified for the park already has grown trees that were planted by youngsters a few years back. The volunteers involved in the plantation have drive urged the civic body not to harm the native breeds that were planted by them.

Trichy Corporation sources said that Rs 1.35 crore has been sanctioned under the smart cities mission to develop a model park housing various herbal plants with medicinal values for display. The medicinal plants shall be chosen based on technical inputs from horticulture experts, officials said.

Besides the herbs, officials added that vegetable crops would also be cultivated to encourage residents to take up terrace gardening utilising the manure produced by recycling biodegradable waste at home.

The 10,000 sq.ft. ground already has various native trees which were planted by volunteers.

“It is a welcome move to have more parks in residential localities but the trees that we planted as saplings last year should not be felled or trimmed for park development. The corporation has assured us that they will not disturb the trees,” D Manoj, a volunteer with Shine Treechy NGO, involved in tree plantation drive said.

Corporation officials added that the open gym, play area for kids and walking tracks would be developed alongside. “The grown trees if needed will be transplanted, but for sure we will not fell the trees as the corporation itself promotes tree plantation drives,” an official source with the Trichy Corporation said.

Civil works to raise compound walls for the park is likely to commence within a week while the construction work is likely to be completed in another three months.

Source