Horticulture department imposes a fine of Rs 500 for tree maulers.

Bangalore:Lalbagh sets out on a quest; it is looking for The Educated Illiterate. Irked by the graffiti that is scribbled by the visitors on the many exotic trees in the 240-acre park, the horticulture department has put out a plan of imposing a fine of Rs 500 on anyone who is caught in the act. However, the department wants to educate the visitors about the harm that their act causes to the trees and rocks – Lalbagh has trees that are over a 100 years old; the central rock is 3,000 million years old and was declared a national geological monument in the year 1916.

In 1760 Hyder Ali commissioned the Construction of the Lalbagh; but it was his son, Tipu Sultan, who completed it. The biological garden has 1,000 different species of flora and exotic trees from Iran, Afghanistan and France, among others.

An official of the horticulture department told a source that “If you go around Lalbagh, you will be surprised to see so many trees which have messages like ‘x loves y’ or ‘x wants to marry y’ or ‘x wants to live with y’ and so on. Lalbagh is a place not just for leisure seekers but also for environment enthusiasts and researchers; they complained to us asking us to save trees from graffiti. There have also been instances where names are being painted on rocks. We take pride in having a rock that is more than 3,000 million years old but these kinds of act will destroy our heritage.”

The security guards who are responsible to take care of the park have been asked to keep an eye on those who are indulging in such graffiti. They have been asked to educate the people caught scribbling their name or some other nonsense. “We have decided to educate people against these kinds of graffiti and the slapping a fine is also one of the proposals we are considering,” said Chandra Shekar, deputy director of the horticulture department.

AN Yellappa Reddy an environmentalist said that visitors need to be educated about the harm that is caused due to scribbling on the trees. “People should have a basic sense that we shouldn’t harm trees in any manner. Writing on trees using blades or other sharpeners can damage trees internally; it harms the soft vascular tissues. These tissues are like veins and arteries in a human body. Damage to the tissues may result in cutting down of water supply during photosynthesis. We need to remember that when the soft tissues get damaged, it causes more harm to the vascular bundle present at the roots of trees. Slowly, the tree loses its strength. This act of scribbling graffiti on trees is known as ‘Educated Ecological Illiteracy’ and awareness for the same should be created among people. This kind of graffiti on trees is known as ‘Educated Ecological Illiteracy’ and the awareness should be created among these people. Lessons on protecting trees are taught in primary school. These people need to be reminded of their primary school lessons once again,” he said.

The admirers of the Lalbagh have accepted this move that is being made. “I was part of the Lalbagh walk and was fascinated with the history of its trees. However, when I saw the graffiti, it looked very depressing. It is nice that the authorities have finally woken up,” said Chitra Kumar, a techie.