Purple flowers from hanging pots that line the median on a stretch of Sardar Patel Road – from Madhya Kailash junction to IIT Madras – have caught the attention of passers-by.
It is perhaps the first time the Corporation has experimented with pot holders on a median. Look closer, and you will notice some of the pots are already missing from the holders.
“It is barely a week since the pots were placed in the holders and a few of them are already missing. What a waste of money?” says A. Sekar, a cobbler at the pavement on Sardar Patel Road. Many motorists think there was no need to embellish the median as traffic was heavy on the stretch.
Earlier, the median was smaller in height and motorists used to drive over it as a short cut, breaking the pots,” says R. Vijaya who runs a dry cleaning shop. “Later, the height of the median was increased and pot holders were introduced. Was this thing needed in the first place?” she asks. As vehicles of many VIPs ply through Sardar Patel Road, the median is ornamented with plants, say residents. It is also going to be a time-consuming exercise for the Corporation in maintaining them. G. Ramakrishnan, horticulturist and a resident of Thiruvanmiyur, feels stainless-steel holders is an expensive initiative to beautify arterial roads as they easily get rusted. He also suggested that plants which require less water such as adenium obesum or desert rose would be smart choice. According to a Corporation official, if the experiment works out then it will be replicated in other areas of the zone. “We have given instructions that the plants be watered everyday,” said the official.
