PUNE: The Pune Municipal
Corporation’s (PMC) garden department has proposed a Rs 4-crore palm
garden in Yerwada, spread over an area of eight acres and complete
with over 40 varieties of palm trees, a km-long jogging track, a
meditation area, skating rink and gazebos, among other things.

A PMC
official said that the garden has Rs 80 lakh budget provision in
2012-2013 and civil work has already begun. He said that electrical
fittings as well as horticultural work will begin by March 2014.

“The 40 varieties of palm trees will co-exist with the existing banyan
and rain trees in the patch and will play an important role in the micro
and macro climate of the city. Palm trees retain groundwater, thus
preventing the ground water table from plummeting. They will also
increase the green footprint of the city. In addition, these trees can
survive with low quantities of water, which will help in saving the
resource from further depletion,” said the landscape designers of the
project.

They added that keeping in view that imported variety
of palms do not endanger the local varieties, the plan is to restrict
the number of exotic varieties to 10 or 15. “Also, the imported
varieties will come up in restricted patches of the garden, and will be
used to educate people. These varieties will co-exist with the rain and
banyan trees that are already present here,” they said, adding that the
exotic varieties will be imported from countries like US and Australia.

The indigenous varieties of palm trees will be brought from a place called Rajahmundry
in Andhra Pradesh. Some of the varieties dotting the garden will be
tiger palms, royal palms, Sylvester palms, areca palm, fishtail palms,
coconut palms, traveler palm, foxtail palm, Indian date palm and bottle
palm among others.

The eight-acre garden will be spread over an
area of 30625 square meters and will have the Pune Alandi road towards
its east and the Mula river
to the West. “As per the master plan, the garden will have an entrance
plaza, security cabin and fountains and water bodies towards the
entrance. These water bodies will surround a group of Ravina palm trees.
Further down, visitors will find the line will take visitors to

a 21 m x 25 m skating rink, a 1500 sq mt water body and an 18m x18m meditation and yoga area,” the official said.

He added that a children’s play area, toddlers’ play area, gazebos,
pavilion, viewing deck, lawn, a jogging track and mounds will form part
of the garden landscape. “The plan is to give a tropical feel to the
visitors. The garden will have palm varieties that were earlier not
indigenously available in India but adapted to the climate here over the
centuries,” said the landscape designer, adding that the entrance gate
of the garden is themed on the leaf of the Monstera palm and serves as a
canopy. and even crafted as a palm leaf.