Telangana: Gandhari Vanam in Mancherial gets new lease of life

Mancherial: Gandhari Vanam or an urban forest park, located on the edges of Bokkalagutta village in Mandamarri mandal and on Mancherial-Bellampalli road, cried for the attention of authorities for quite a long time. And it finally found a new lease of life, thanks to sustained efforts of authorities concerned and the 7th edition of the […]

Mancherial: Gandhari Vanam or an urban forest park, located on the edges of Bokkalagutta village in Mandamarri mandal and on Mancherial-Bellampalli road, cried for the attention of authorities for quite a long time. And it finally found a new lease of life, thanks to sustained efforts of authorities concerned and the 7th edition of the massive plantation initiative, Telanganaku Harita Haram (THH).

“A slew of measures are being taken to transform the outlook of the facility and to draw the attention of visitors. As many as 50,000 saplings were planted in open spaces, gaps and either sides of the 3-kilometer long walking track of the park. Weed and invasive plants are being removed, besides lifting garbage,” Mancherial Forest Divisional Officer Vinay Kumar Sahu told ‘Telangana Today.’

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Created on a sprawling 137 hectares in 2015 at an estimated cost of Rs 3.5 crore, the park is a home to a host of forest plant species, a staggering array of avian community, butterflies, wild boars and monkeys. It houses 11,000 fully grown tree species namely neem, pala (Oxystelma esculentum), teak tactona grandis, Regu (Ziziphus nummularia) and hundreds of herbal plants. It was considered as a paradise for joggers and fitness seekers.

But, maintenance of the park was neglected over a period of time. Weed and waste plants were grown along paths and the walking track. Similarly, the Codid-19 pandemic left an adverse impact on the facility with none interested in visiting the park. Ongoing works of national high-way between Mancherial and Wankidi of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district caused inconvenience to joggers. All these factors spelt doom for the showcase of biodiversity.

However, under the guidance of Gandhari Vanam in-charge Shivani Dogra, authorities of the forest department embarked on renovation of the park in July. They initially took up a massive plantation drive which helped the park to get a facelift. Saplings of bamboo, fruit-bearing, shade-bearing and native forest species are being planted in empty spaces and gaps and on either sides of the walking track. Waste and weed are being cleared.

“The main objective is to convert the park into high-density urban lung-space and a reliable recreation destination to people of Mancherial district centre and Kyathanaplli municipality and surrounding villages Bokkalagutta, Koteshwaraopalli and Kurmapalli. As part of this mission, a slew of works were taken up in July. The fares for entry walking and boating will be enhanced to meet expenditures of the maintenance of the facility,” the FDO stated.

The authorities of the forest department are planning to collect an entry of Rs 30 as against Rs 20 charged in the past and Rs 500 from walkers instead of Rs 300 per month soon. They are going to paint walls and erect sign boards and informative boards to educate the visitors with the help of revenues generated by the park in a couple of months.