Visually impaired students can nowsmell their way on DSMNRU campus

Time of India

05-06-2025

Lucknow: Visually impaired students at Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University (DSMNRU) can now 'smell their way' to their destinations on campus, all thanks to a unique initiative under which fragrant pathways have been created.
Inaugurated on World Environment Day, the 'Sugandh Path' will have unique scented seasonal flowering plants on different routes, said DSMNRU vice chancellor, Prof Sanjay Singh.
"Our gardening team plans to strategically place flowers with strong scents so that a visually impaired student can use their sense of smell to navigate to a specific place," said the VC.
He explained that the flower scent will serve as a route guide for the students.
Different flowers have distinct scents, and by planting specific varieties in certain locations, a pathway is created that's easy to follow using scent. For example, a strong, sweet scent like gardenia might signal a particular area, while a more subtle fragrance like marigold could mark a transition point.
"It will help our students to identify the route from one department to another. Under this scheme, aromatic plants will be planted on a large scale in the university.
This innovative experiment will, on one hand, increase the sense of companionship with nature among the students and, on the other hand, will also create the confidence of free movement, said the vice chancellor.
Campus Development chairman Prof Avnish Chandra Mishra stated that in the first phase, aromatic plants are being planted on the route from the hostel trisection to the academic building. Gandharaj is being planted at Academic Building 01, Madhukamini at Academic Building 02, Manokamini at the Administrative Building, Bela near the library, Chameli near the Engineering Faculty, and Harsigar near the bank.
Vice Chancellor planted Gandharaj, along with registrar Rohit Singh, dean academic Prof VK Singh, dean fine arts Prof Rajivnayan, director research Prof AK Dubey, dean student welfare Ashutosh Pandey, and members of campus development also planted saplings and trees.