A tall plant nursery is coming up at the near the drop gate at Kechki More on Daltonganj Betla road said sources. The tall plant nursery is different from permanent nursery. Sources said the Palamu tiger reserve had at one time more than half a dozen permanent nurseries but now all are disbanded.
DFO Core of the PTR AK Mishra said this tall plant nursery will ‘bring up plants up to the height of five to six feet and then it will be moved out from here to the tiger reserve’.
DFO Core Mishra added further unlike permanent nursery in tall plant nursery there is no Mother Bed. Sources said permanent nurseries were wound up because there is no scope/room for plantation in tiger reserve/sanctuary/park.
At this coming up tall plant nursery there are in all 12 beds each of the length of 40 feet where in one each bed 1,000 saplings can be brought up till they attain the height of 5 to 6 feet. DFO Core Mishra said as for water there is a well built there on the site way back 2004 and the water man will bring water to these 12 beds by pipes.
Mishra said ‘ One does not build Beds without care and caution. Sun light is ensured as growing plants here may perish for want of adequate sun light’. The tall plant nursery here coming up has no problem of sun light said D S Srivastava member state wild life board.
Sources said the PTR is growing thinner so far count of bamboos is concerned. Bamboos are the staple diet of elephants here. Srivastava said there is an urgent need to revive bamboos in PTR and this tall plant nursery can be put to this use. Corroborating the version of Srivastava DFO Core Mishra said ‘ I will go for saplings of bamboos, Anwla, kathal, neem here to grow as big as 5 to 6 feet and then their soil address will be changed that is these will then taken down to tiger reserve forest.’
Sources said the state government has doled out a bare 1.49 lakhs of rupees for this tall plant nursery. Growing plants find their worst enemy in rabbits and boars who for eating just get them uprooted said the ranger Betla Nathuni Singh.
The ranger said this 5 or 6 feet high plant will be in a position to bear the onslaught of rabbits and wild boars here. There at this coming up tall plant nursery Srivastava showed the Pioneer flower of akar kara with which multi national companies are marketting mouth freshner. This flower is in abundance and so abundant is the ignorance of the peopleabout its medicinal value.