Mumbai flyovers to bloom with a riot of multi-coloured ‘bougainvilleas’

Mumbai: As part of the efforts to beautify Mumbai, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will plant multi-coloured bougainvilleas in over 2,000 pots to be placed on the city flyovers, an official said here on Thursday.

The BMC Parks Department has selected the locations on the road dividers of the 20 flyovers around the city for its colourful bougainvillea project to improve the road aesthetics and make driving more pleasant.

The idea apparently struck after the Parks Department organised a horticulture exhibition last week in the Byculla Zoo where over 10,000 different plant varieties were displayed and lakhs of Mumbaikars visited the 3-day expo.

After seeing the public response and conducting a survey, the BMC has decided on the project to make driving more scenic and appealing, especially during jams or slow traffic movement or hot weather conditions.

Accordingly, the 20 flyovers where the road dividers are wide shall now be decorated with pots of bougainvillea in different colours, taking care not to obstruct traffic or visibility.

Explaining the choice of bougainvilleas, an official said that these flowering plants grow well with minimal water and stay fresh for longer periods, bloom in different shades of red, pink, orange, purple, violets, white, yellow and more, almost in all seasons plus offer a cool sight particularly in the summer heat when the flyovers also heat up considerably.

Some of the flyovers selected are on the Western Express Highway, the Link Road, Bandra Kurla Complex, Santacruz, Vakola, Lalbaug, Sanjay Gandhi National Park Flyover, Magathane, Sudhir Phadke Flyover, the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road, Shiva Bridge, Matunga, Dadar, Eastern Freeway, Goregaon-Mulund Link Road, Sion-Panvel highway, Eastern Express Highway’s T junction, Sion-Bandra road, Swatantryaveer Savarkar Road, Suman Nagar, etc.

Officials indicate that after seeing the response the project may be expanded to cover more flyovers and wide roads with bougainvilleas or even other flowering plants, depending on various factors.

--IANS

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