JOIN USMangaluru International Airport (MIA) has drawn up plans to plant more than 10,000 plants in and around its building.
MIA, under the guidance of horticulture experts, has taken steps toward making local flora part of its fast-developing landscape.
Work of placing more than 600 pots with local varieties of ornamental plants at vantage locations, both on the curbside and inside the terminal, has begun.
Care has been taken to choose plants that require minimal care to ensure optimum utilisation of natural resources.
Plants have been placed in pots with a potting mixture that consumes less water.
Thus, visitors can find ‘Alpinia purpurata’ that grows upto a height of 2 feet. Its bright flower enhances the beauty of the terminal. On the curbside, the sight of various local species of palm including areca nut and coconut is sure to leave visitors delighted.
One will also see the Ashoka tree, Cassia tree, bamboo and shrubs such as Lilly and hibiscus vie for the attention of visitors.
As many as 52 varieties of indoor and outdoor varieties had been handpicked by the team to add to MIA’s aesthetic appeal.
While all the indoor varieties of plants had been planted in large and small pots, the outdoor varieties had been planted in soil.
The outdoor plants when in full bloom over a period will be a visual delight.
On the curbside, the airport has initiated a move to minimize the use of water through drip irrigation.
Sprinklers too have been installed to water the lawn area more efficiently.
Plans are also afoot to develop an in-house nursery to replenish plant varieties.