Bringing cashew trees back to Bengaluru's 'Jedi Mara' Junction

Jedi Mara Junction on Bannerghatta Road is set to get back the cashew trees it is named after.

The name Jedi Mara is said to be a colloquial reference to cashew trees that once lined up the intersection. The name was first given to the bus stop. The nearby traffic intersection later drew the same name. Thus came into existence the well-known Jedi Mara Junction in southern Bengaluru. But overtime, all cashew trees, bar one, were cut down.

On Sunday, NGO Project Vruksha Foundation, in association with the BBMP's forest division, planted 10 cashew saplings at the junction. Among those in attendance were Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner J Manjunath and BBMP special commissioner B Reddy Shankar Babu.

"Bengaluru has a tradition of identifying a place through trees in that area. Malleswaram has roads named after its famous trees, Sampige and Margosa (Neem). But the felling of trees has not only eroded the greenery but also the names associated with such places. We want to revive that tradition by bringing back the trees in the city," said Vijay Nishath, founder, Project Vruksha Foundation.

He suggested that the BBMP plant the saplings of a particular species while developing a particular road so that the place can identified with such trees. "We have received a positive response," he added.

A senior citizen at the event remembered the glorious greenery of big cashew trees that once adorned the traffic intersection.

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