Thiruvananthapuram: Around 1.75 acres of government land lying unused is an anomaly in Kerala, let alone at thickly populated Karamana. This expanse, right next to Vighneswara temple ghat at Karamana, is being converted into a biodiversity park.
Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) is taking care of the biodiversity of the place. The irrigation department, in charge of building infrastructure here, has completed the first phase. The project is a part of Karamana river scientific management project implemented by Kerala State Council of Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE).
The place with its shade-giving trees will be enriched with more plants and trees. Karamana river side is home to wild cane, different varieties of bamboo, river pine, wild lilies and othalam (cerebra odollum or sea mango).
Indigenous species such as these will be the first choice to enrich the place, according to KSBB member-secretary Lala Dhas. “Fruit-bearing trees and shrubs naturally found in such habitat will be planted first. Then we will plant rare and threatened species of plants usually found only in the forests,” says Lala Dhas.
There will also be different varieties of orchids. However, the planting of saplings, estimated to cost around Rs 20 lakh, will start only after irrigation department’s work is complete.
Around Rs 50 lakh has been spent on protecting the site with retaining walls in the first phase of the project. Gabions, rectangular cages of steel mesh in which rocks are stacked, have been used to build the retaining walls. “Gabion walls are better than the rock retaining walls, as they are porous for water to pass through,” says a KSCSTE official. In the next phase, the irrigation department will spend around '60 lakh to build benches, walkways and handrails for visitors, according to an irrigation official.
