A few years from now, if you take a train out of town, the feel of the garden city will linger on till you cross the BBMP limits -- thanks to a plan the Palike has given shape to in association with South-Western Railway. Under this plan, greenery along the track will be developed and maintained and Divisional Railway Manager (Works) Alok Tiwari has already written to Krishna Udupudi, Deputy Conservator of Forests of BBMP, agreeing to help the Palike in the project.

The Palike decided to develop the railway land alongside the track as the space has been put to very desirable uses by the public over many years. “In many parts of the City, these areas have been used by the public to dump waste or defecate. Despite residents’ complaints, the Palike was helpless as the land belongs to the Railways. Recently, I held talks with Railway authorities and they have agreed to have trees alongside the tracks”, Mr Udupudi said.

Kumara Park West Residents’ Welfare Association was the first such association to take the initiative to beautify areas around railway tracks. On association president N S Ramakanth’s complaining to the Palike about the gross ‘abuse’ of the the track and surroundings between Windsor bridge and the Nehru Nagar flyover, the Palike agreed to beautify the said area but asked the association to get the Railways’ approval first.

Says Mr Ramakanth, “My appeal to the Railways for permission was rejected twice. However, I succeeded in the third attempt, after assuring them that the project would not affect the tracks. But as we found it difficult to raise the required money, the Palike took up the work at a cost of Rs 10 lakh.”

‘A success’
As many as 10,000 saplings of neem and bougainvillaea have been planted since along the 1.3 km stretch. A pipe carrying drainage water out of Ashoka Hotel has been the source of water for the saplings.
Mr Udupudi says the pilot project has been successful. “The Palike will extend it to other areas in a phased manner. Railway track in the City limits is around 169 km. I have asked zonal horticulture officers to survey of the areas through which the rail lines pass. The Superintendent of Horticulture (East) has already submitted a survey report on about 18 km. The survey done, “we’ll estimate the total expense for beautification works of all other areas,” he said.