Delhi civic body decks concrete central verge with flowers
NEW DELHI: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decked a half-kilometre stretch of concrete central verge on Barakhamba Road with Petunia, said Satish Upadhyay, civic body vice-chairman. The petunia flower has a variety of colours and a long lifespan, thus chosen for the beautification initiative, he said. It is less leafy with a sufficient span of blooming till May.
“Barakhamba Road is surrounded by office buildings that are full of hustle and bustle. That is why the civic body took the initiative by using new techniques to develop planters on the concrete surface between carriageways without any digging work,” he said. Upadhyay appreciated the horticulture department’s efforts in taking this initiative as the whole path is on a concrete base.
“NDMC is planning to develop and maintain this flower avenue concept for the whole year. The whole work is completed in-house by the civic body’s horticulture department except pre-fabrication with very nominal cost,” he said. According to horticulture department officials, the depth of the soil in these planters is six to eight inches and the width is two metres, having two layers. “The first layer of geo-textile and second layer green-texture have a quality to not allow soil to go out. It will only allow water to go outside in case of excess giving.
“NDMC is also planning to plant a Sadabahar, an indigenous variety in white and purple colours in a pattern. The flower survives in less water. The plan is to plan it from June onwards so that it survives till November,” a senior NDMC official said.