Collector’s camp office turns nursery garden in Tirupattur

It spreads over 1.5 acres where 43 native species are being grown

Collector’s spacious camp office on Pudupet Road in Tirupattur has now become a home for a permanent nursery garden with 43 native species being grown for plantation in the district in the coming months.

The month-old nursery spreads over 1.5 acre inside the office that is dotted with coconut groves, vegetable farm and a few milch cows. The office, which is around 15 acres, is the official residence of District Collector Amar Kushwaha. “Earlier, the nursery was operating from Chinnavedampatti, a remote village in Kandali block. Space inside the camp office now helps us to grow more saplings in a short period,” said the nursery in-charge, K. Madeshwaran, who is also Junior Assistant, Rural Development (Jolarpet).

The nursery, which is managed by woman workers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), comprises eight mother beds where seeds of various native species are sown. Each mother bed, which is around 100 sq.ft, helps to grow at least 5,000 saplings every fortnight. Seeds are collected from forest areas along Jawadhu Hills, roping woman workers under NREGA and also from Palani town in Dindigul district for better quality.   

Plant varieties like vaagai (Albizia lebbeck), vembu (Azadirachta indica), mantharai (Bauhinia purpurea), punnai (Calophyllum inophyllum), kalyana murungai (Erythrina variegata) and ‘arasa maram’ (Ficus religiosa) are grown. Guava, rose wood, banana, almond, drumstick, tamarind, naval tree, izhupai tree, mango and gooseberry are also grown.

As of now, 22,000 saplings have been grown in the nursery. These saplings will be distributed to residents, farmers, traders in six blocks such as Tirupattur, Natrampalli, Kandhili, Jolarpet, Alangayam, and Madhanur, comprising 208 villages in the district in the coming days. Another batch of 30,000 saplings are being readied. Saplings from the nursery are also provided to the public under the Green Tamil Nadu Mission.