Several hundred visitors on Friday thronged the premises of the National Tree Fair 2013 showcasing tree saplings of different species.
Simi Mehnaz, a banker who came to the fair from Uttara of the capital, bought saplings of rose, china rose, marigold, hasnahena, mango and chilli from the fair.She told New Age, ‘Every year I wait for the tree fair and try to buy some saplings for my roof garden.’
A total 75 stalls including one educational institution, six public and private organisations are participating in the fair.
Around 900 species of fruit bearing, forest grown, ornamental and medicinal plants are available in the fair, said the organisers.
The fruit bearing saplings include mango, black berry, carambola, wood apple, jack fruit, banana, guava, star apple, tamarind, grape, strawberry and date sapling.
Many medicinal plants including neem, nishinda, chandramula, shotomuli, nagmoni, basok, dadmordon, telakutcha, pathorkuchi, mohua, ghrita kumari, pudina, mohua, horitaki, oshok, guloncho, sarpa gandha, harnora, lata, arjun, mohavungaraj nayantara, agar, fanimansha, salad kochu, aparajita, ulat kambal, tulshi and kalamegh are available in the fair.
Bangladesh Agricultural Extension Department is displaying some models of roof garden for the city dwellers who want to plant trees on their roof.
They are also displaying medicinal plant garden, fruit-bearing tree garden and vegetables which are suitable for roof top gardening.
For the first time Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University (Agriculture and Environment Science Department) participated in the fair to display different garden model and give suggestion to the visitors.
Bangladesh Forest Research Institute is showcasing different products made by forest wood.
A fruit named ‘pashion’ which tastes like tang is one of the attractions of this fair. A farmer of Gaibandha brought this tree from Ivory Coast to the country.
The ‘pashion’ tree sapling is available at the fair which takes nine months to give fruit.
Banarupa Nursery is showcasing a blue coloured chili which is known as ‘Nepali chilli’ at Tk 100.
Chinese bonsai is selling at Tk 50,000, black grape tree with grapes at Tk 20,000, saplings and trees of latkan, kiwijai, banana mango are available at the Banarupa Mantala Muktagacha Mymensigh Nursery.
In BRAC nursery different cactus priced at Tk 1000-15,000, keep and touch bonsai at Tk 800, tissue culture banana sapling at Tk 30 are available.
Gazipur Horticulture Nursery is selling bonsai bot at Tk 15,000, variance at Tk 20,000, fagon at Tk 10,000.
Botanical garden forester Mujibur Rahman said they were showcasing old trees and saplings of chapalish, cardfol, ghora neem, cauwa tuti, tomal, bilati gab, buddhu narikel sindhuri, kusum, dugdugi, baobab, nil and ritha etc at their stall.
Forest Department official Syed Mahmudur Rahman told New Age every day their average sale is nearly Tk 10-15 lakh.
He said in June 5-12, their total sale was Tk 41 lakh.
Mahmudur Rahman said the city people lacked space for planting trees because of which they prefer fruit bearing and ornamental trees in the fair.
The forest department of the Ministry of Environment and Forest has organised the month-long fair near the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, inaugurated the fair on June 5 with a call to plant trees to save the environment.
The fair remains open for all from 9:00am to 8:00pm every day.
The fair will continue till July 4.
-With New Age input
