Devaraj Urs Road is one of the most important roads in Mysore with one end of it touching the Mysore palace.

In spite of being the central road of Mysore and being the commercial center of the city, the road in terms of aesthetics does not score high. The road is planned with automobiles in mind while pedestrians and shoppers are not considered as much. One major problem pedestrians face is the intense sun during afternoons. Between 11 AM and 4 PM, most people avoid the road. The best and most obvious solution is planting trees.
As of today, 14 trees exist on the kilometer long road. Just 14! I did a quick math to find out how many trees can be planted in all. Considering the intersecting roads, electric poles and a gap of at least 15 feet between adjacent saplings, 240 trees can be planted (both sides included). How would it look like? See the images below:


Next big step for me is to take this plan to all concerned government departments and obtain clearances to do the planting. Funds need to be arranged which have been promised by a few shopkeepers. Parking area also has to be considered before we go ahead with this plan. A sketch of how this can be planned is shown below:

Also, there are reservations about the plan by some people about which I’ll write in the next post. As for the 14 trees on the road which exist now, here are the photos. These trees should serve as an example that even large trees do not pose problems to the buildings.

2 trees near ING Vysya and 1 tree Near Khadims

2 trees Near Foodworld and 1 tree Near the Dargah

3 trees Near Bahusar cycle and watch shop and 1 tree Near NS Road junction

1 tree Near last Junction on DD Urs Road and 1 tree to the left of Bombay tiffanys

1 tree to the right of Bombay tiffanys and 1 tree in front of café coffee day
I will be posting again with more details of the plan, the advantages of tree planting on busy roads such as this and how this is done in other countries. Also, please provide feedback, whether positive or negative so that I can use them in my discussions with the government officials.