Jogging in Lalbagh will be a walk in the park

Damaged lanes and tracks across Lalbagh Botanical Gardens always posed a considerable threat to morning walkers and joggers, especially in the wee hours of the morning.

But a fortnight-long civil works taken up by the horticulture department is expected to put an end to such problems.

READ: A scented dawn awaits joggers, walkers at Lalbagh

Angry about the pothole-ridden walking and jogging stretches, several walkers and joggers had petitioned the horticulture department to repair the stretches at the earliest. The same was brought to the notice of the senior horticultural officials during the Citizen Interaction programme ‘Janaspandana’ organised by DH-PV in November 2018. The department had also assured walkers and joggers that it is in talks with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for funds to take up repair works.

The good news is that with the release of funds, the horticulture department is half-way through the track repair work.

“We have already taken out curbstones that were laid all along the asphalted lane,” said N Jagadeesh, Joint Director (Parks and Plantations), Horticulture Department.

“These lanes were repaired 45 years ago. There was no repair work inside Lalbagh thereafter. Interestingly, these curb stones chiselled into elongated pieces are more than 100 years old. The curb stones will be retained and reused soon after the asphalting work.”

According to officials, the curbstones, that were supposed to be taller than the asphalted roads, were buried under soil over the years.

“We have removed all of them and filled the ditch with additional soil, thereby raising the height of the stones. Once the asphalting work gets over, we will fix them back in the same place. Already, these stones have been fixed in their original place near Double Road entrance and now the work is half-way through near the West Gate,” Chandrashekhar MR told DH.

The stretch spanning more than 1 km starting from the West Gate entrance to Topiary garden is being repaired currently.

“The uneven surface of the walking lanes and joggers track has also been rolled over using earth movers so that the surface is flat and convenient for the walkers and joggers,” revealed a technical officer at Lalbagh who is overseeing the civil works.

Out of the 10-km-long walking lane, a 6-km stretch is being repaired while the remaining will be taken up in the second phase.