The Department of Horticulture, Government of Karnataka, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with LM Wind Power and United Way Bengaluru on Wednesday to develop the Doddasaggere Botanical Garden in Koratagere, Tumakuru.
Spread across 228 acres, the botanical garden is home to several species of birds, trees and reptiles. The proposed ecological development in the garden includes the rejuvenation of a lake to increase its water retention capacity and potentially hold two crore litres of water. The lake will also have a bund and two loose boulder structures to aid in desilting and prevent soil erosion, respectively.
They also plan to create a thematic thorny forest across 4.5 acres using 2,500 saplings of 17 varieties of thorny plants.
K Nagendra Prasad, director of the horticulture department; M Jagadish, joint director of the department; Rajesh Lobo, senior plant director of LM Wind Power, Dabaspet; and Rajesh Krishnan, CEO, United Way of Bengaluru, were among those present at the signing.
“We are glad to partner with United Way Bengaluru and the Government of Karnataka in the afforestation and pond rejuvenation project focused on protecting and enhancing biodiversity in the area, improving water quality, and creating greater awareness about managing our natural resources responsibly, so that we leave a greener world for the next generations," said Lobo.
Krishnan said that the organisation has been implementing similar environmental interventions. “But we do not do this alone; we do it with the help of our stakeholders as we believe in mobilising the caring power of the communities towards achieving our goals,” he said.