3 days ago
Hidden Stories: this historic garden rests in isolation in Pune's Aundh, yearning for visitors
A towering mango tree with a wide, scaly trunk and regal foliage stands beside an uneven track, almost appearing to be surveying its surroundings like the Peshwas who had planted it back in 1799. Sheltered in its shade, one is barely aware of the roar of the Pune traffic from Ganeshkhind Road as vehicles hurry past a key biodiversity heritage site in the country. Instead, the breeze carries the smell of leaves and the chatter of mynas, parakeets, and kingfishers.
Ganeshkhind Garden, located at the Ganeshkhind Research Center behind Savitribai Phule Pune University and a stone's throw from Spicer College, is a 145-acre expanse where history intertwines with botany, and trees serve as important landmarks. In fact, there are more than 4,500 trees here. 'Even the people who live in the Aundh neighbourhood don't know that they have such a beautiful site nearby. They could come more often, have their walks here, and conduct visits for nearby schools,' says Meghna Bhandari, a citizen who is involved in protecting and raising awareness about natural resources.
Ganeshkhind Garden was established as a Centre for Taxonomic Studies by botanist George Marshall Woodrow in 1872. It was intended as a site for scientific research into horticulture. To this day, the garden contains tracts of mango and guava orchards, an avenue of legacy mahogany trees, and dense fields of crops, besides populations of insects and other biodiversity.
When British forces needed medicinal plants
The interest of the British in setting up such gardens goes back to the 17th and 18th centuries, when Pune was a seat of the Marathas that controlled the central and southern parts of the Indian sub-continent and was, consequently, a formidable power against the East India Company, whose garrison was in Khadki. European officers of the company trained 'natives' in military tactics to form a force. This led to a demand for a botanical garden that would provide medicinal plants, among others, required by the British and native forces.
The Dapodi Garden was established in 1827 by Sir John Malcolm, the Governor of the Bombay Presidency. Over almost the next four decades, the garden encouraged innovations and planted the seed for scientific research, paving the way for Ganeshkhind Garden.
Ameet Singh, an economist and researcher, says that Pune, even a few decades ago, 'had so much biodiversity by the riverside that Ganeshkhind Garden, by itself, wasn't a very unique place'. 'We had the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, where the river became a flood plain, and the Ram-Mula confluence. Slowly, the riverside began to be encroached by a lot of people, including the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Gradually, all the green cover of Pune started to disappear. Today, the Ganeshkhind Garden is among the few such green spaces remaining in the city,' he says. The garden was accorded the status of a Biodiversity Heritage Site in 2020.
Singh adds that several plant types have been developed in the garden through genetic breeding programmes. These include at least 21 varieties of 11 crops. 'The garden, thus, possesses sensitive genetic material, which includes the germplasm (the genetic material of a plant) of several crop plants, and new crop varieties developed through traditional research tools,' he says. Researchers have found 167 wild plant species, out of which over 67 have medicinal uses.
Now, a demand for STP
At present, the Ganeshkhind Garden is facing a new threat in the form of a case at the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Pune. 'The PMC wants 30 gunthas of land from the garden to set up a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). There are few such biodiversity heritage sites in India like this garden. While we are not opposed to building STPs. On the contrary, we believe that STPs should be built as we need to increase capacity, but this can be done at a different site rather than at Ganeshkhind Garden,' says Bhandari, the main litigant. The others are Singh, Rekha Joshi and Gangotri Chanda.
'Building an STP would require heavy construction work and a road. There will be noise and pollution. In future, the PMC will increase the capacity of the STP. We are opposed to this happening at Ganeshkhind Garden,' adds Bhandari. As the group takes on the authorities in court, she hopes that citizens start enjoying the garden more.
Dipanita Nath is interested in the climate crisis and sustainability. She has written extensively on social trends, heritage, theatre and startups. She has worked with major news organizations such as Hindustan Times, The Times of India and Mint. ... Read More
