Plan for Lalbagh guided walk in Bengaluru on back burner | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: For nearly three months, guided walking tour in Cubbon Park (Sri Chamarajendra Park), introduced by the horticulture department, has drawn hundreds of visitors eager to learn about Bengaluru’s green heritage. However, plans to launch a similar initiative in Lalbagh Botanical Garden has been delayed indefinitely due to a shortage of trained naturalists to conduct the walks.Earlier this year, the department decided to organise weekend walks in the city’s lung spaces to educate visitors about their history, flora, and fauna. The Cubbon Park Nature Walks, launched in July in collaboration with The Naturalist School and Bangalore Walks, have since been held every weekend in both English and Kannada.“Currently, only four naturalists are available, and they are already engaged in conducting Cubbon Park walks. It will be a few more months before we can start the Lalbagh programme,” said M Jagadeesh, joint director (Parks & Gardens), horticulture department.When asked if the department might collaborate with other groups to address the shortage, Jagadeesh said sourcing qualified guides is not easy. “We need people who are not only well-versed in the flora and fauna of our parks but can also narrate engagingly. Some people meet one or two of these criteria, but not all. Hence, we are not planning to involve other organisations at this point,” he said.However, Arun Pai from Bangalore Walks disagreed, saying there is no shortage of naturalists. “We currently have six to seven naturalists on rotation and are training another three to four. The Lalbagh tour is not delayed due to a shortage but because we want to first complete a three-month review of Cubbon Park tours before expanding,” Pai said. A stakeholder familiar with the programme also noted that some naturalists were reluctant to associate with the department after it banned private guided tours in Cubbon Park earlier this year, a move that drew criticism from several nature educators.English scores over Kannada walksSince the launch of the tour programme, Cubbon Park Walks has attracted 942 visitors (869 adults and 73 children) until Oct 15, generating a revenue of about Rs 1.8 lakh from 38 tours, of which 23 were conducted in English and 15 in Kannada.Organisers say English batches are consistently full, while Kannada tours see fewer participants due to limited publicity. “When we started, newspapers covered it widely, so the initial crowd was mostly middle-aged and senior citizens. Later, a Kannada YouTube channel helped increase awareness slightly. English tours draw about 25–30 participants per batch, while Kannada tours average around 15,” said Radha Rangarajan, one of the naturalists.To consolidate attendance, Kannada walks are now held only on Sundays, while English tours run on both Saturdays and Sundays, with extra batches occasionally added to meet the surging demand. Organisers are also working to boost Kannada participation by promoting the tours on Instagram, sharing details among RWA groups, and collaborating with Kannada influencers.