JOIN USThe Daivi Vana has been developed by the forest department at a cost of Rs 106 lakh, with the first phase involving planting of saplings spread across an area of one hectare.
With lakhs of tourists arriving at Chamundi Hill, the forest department has planned to provide an opportunity for the visitors to plant a sapling in the name of their loved ones by paying Rs 1,500. The forest department would be responsible for the maintenance of the plants.
Saplings
A total area of 1,950.07 hectare surrounding Chamundi Hill would be used to plant saplings of various varieties including sampige, thaare, bilva, arali, tulasi, nerale, nelli, nagasampige, mutthuga, basari, athi, bidiru, banni, rakthachandana, srigandha, shivane and others. A rock garden is also being developed in the area.
On the occasion, Mandya residents H V Radhakrishna and Kavya planted a mango sapling in the name of their daughter, Impu.
Chief guests
Forest minister C P Yogeshwar, district in-charge minister S A Ramdas, Karnataka Housing Board president G T Devegowda, former minister C H Vijayashankar, MLCs Thontadarya, K R Mallikarjunappa, MLA M Sathyanarayana, deputy commissioner P S Vastrad, zilla panchayat president Suneetha Veerappagowda, CEO G Satyavathi, mayor Pushpalatha Chikkanna, deputy mayor M J Ravikumar, MCC commissioner K S Raykar, police commissioner Sunil Agarwal, deputy conservator of forests Manoj Kumar, chairman of Zoo Authority of Karnataka M Nanjundaswamy and others were present.