The Smriti Van at Patrapara in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 6: The forest department has brought down charges for planting saplings at the Smriti Van (memorial garden) from Rs 20,000 to Rs 8,000 to attract more people wishing to commemorate their loved ones by dedicating saplings to them.

The garden at Patrapara on the city outskirts was developed in April 22 this year to have 1,150 saplings on 17.5 acres, so that people could dedicate trees to their dear ones, celebrate birthdays or anniversaries by planting saplings. However, till date, only five saplings have been planted there.

The people, who have planted trees in memory of their family members, include former chief secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra, forest secretary R.K. Sharma, chief electoral officer Mona Sharma, principal chief conservator of forests J.D. Sharma and additional principal chief conservator of forests Amiya Mohapatra.

“Authorities have slashed the price from Rs 20,000 to Rs 8,000, so that common people take interest in coming forward and planting saplings of their choice from 40 types of trees selected by experts. All the tree types are selected according to the soil and environment in and around the city,” said divisional forest officer Jayanta Das.

According to the plan, each sapling will be placed in the centre of a 36-sqft green lawn, beautified with ornamental plants, and there will be special landscaping done to the entire 17.5 acres.

A stone plaque containing the name of the person in whose memory the sapling is planted will be placed near it. To give it a uniform look, the forest department will standardise the plaque design and its content, so that all will look similar in shape and size.

“Already the boundary wall construction is over, and there will be a well-developed road network, information centre and information on all species of the plants incorporated in the garden. The park will be given a special look, so that people will come here and visit the place to spend a quality time,” said forest ranger Bishnu Behera.

Satyasai Enclave resident Parthasarathi Das said: “The idea to have a park where trees are planted in memory of beloved ones is a nice idea, and the slashing of the token money to become a part of it will definitely help in popularising the concept to plant more trees.”

A forest official said the department would take care of a sapling for 15 years. Within that period or even after, if the tree gets damaged in a natural calamity such as storm or cyclone, a new sapling will replace the damaged one.

The management of the memorial park will be under the Ekamra Van Society, which manages the Ekamra Van on the western bank of Bindusagar with more than 100 medicinal plant species, said Das, who is designated as the society’s member secretary. Interested persons can contact the Khandagiri forest ranger or the divisional forest officer to plant a sapling in memory of their kin.