Botanical Garden reels under acute water crisis

COIMBATORE: The famed Government Botanical Garden (GBG), a must-to-be-visited destination for tourists coming to Ooty, is facing an unprecedented water crisis ahead of the annual flower show likely to be held in May.

Of the five ponds in GBG, three have gone bone dry while the remaining holds just scanty water. Without adequate water for plants and lawns, the horticulture department has been forced to purchase water from tankers to keep greenery alive. Yet the lawn in several patches has dried out.

“Water is purchased from tankers to keep the lawns and plants from withering away in the sprawling garden. At least 30,000 litres of water is needed to meet the garden’s daily requirements. But there is a shortfall in availability and only a maximum of 15,000 litres could be sourced daily from tankers,” said D Balashankar, Assistant Director of Horticulture (Nilgiris).

In this current scenario, the horticulture department is using water judiciously to save the plants from the scorching heat. “For lawns sprinklers are used, while for other plants water is supplied only in minimal quantities to simply wet their roots. It was some five years ago that such a water crisis left the garden high and dry,” the official added.

The horticulture department shells out around Rs 1,600 for a tanker load of 5,000 litres capacity. “The cost of tanker water is higher in the hills than in plains. This additional expense incurred on water is met out through maintenance funds received for the garden. Despite such challenges, all preparations are underway for the flower show on a positive note,” Balashankar said.

All these years, the five ponds in the garden catered to the water requirements. “Of them three have dried out. This is for the first time in the last several years; I am seeing the ponds going dry. After the end of season, plans are afoot to desilt these ponds to increase their water holding capacity. Lawns have been closed and watered twice a day and it is extremely challenging to meet out the water requirements for the garden. It is also difficult to maintain the Rose Garden without water,” said another official requesting anonymity.

When the garden faced a crisis in 2016, a bore well was laid in the garden and water extracted from it is now used only for essential purposes of staff employed in the garden. However, the tourist flow to Ooty continues to be high with 10,000 to 12,000 during weekdays and goes up to 16,000 footfalls during weekends to escape from the sweltering heat.