Bengaluru: Parks in the city would henceforth remain open from 5 am to 10 pm, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also in-charge of  Bengaluru Development, said on Tuesday.

He said some people had complained that parks were being closed in the afternoon hours and wanted them to remain open without a break.

"Now it is from 5 am to 10 am and then from 1:30 pm to 8 pm. So we have now decided that all parks in Bengaluru city will be open from 5 am to 10 pm. For the benefit of the citizens, we are extending it," Shivakumar told reporters here.

Referring to concerns over parks being used for "illegal or unwanted" activities, he said cameras have been installed at their entry and exit gates.

Bengaluru has more than 1,200 public parks, probably the highest in the country, officials said, adding that the new timing particularly covers the parks that come under city civic body, Bruhat  Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) jurisdiction.

Speaking on the Climate Action and Resilience Plan for Bengaluru (BCAP), Shivakumar said under the flagship `Hasiru Rakshaka' project, sapling plantation programme has been successfully completed across all BBMP zones.

"Our aim is to raise awareness among school children toward the environment and they responded with great enthusiasm and active participation. Last year, BBMP planted one lakh saplings and distributed 50,000 saplings to the public. 250 schools participated in the programme and their students planted 52,000 saplings," he said.

These schools and students also signed agreements to take care of these trees in the coming years. A website and mobile application have been developed for children to monitor the health of their plants.

"This year, we are increasing our targets and planning to plant two lakh saplings by involving even more schools and children. This year we will have an agreement with 250 schools, targeting about 75,000 students. Rest will be done with police and public. 25000 saplings have already been distributed and 25000 more will be distributed soon," the Minister added.

Further noting that BBMP already invited eight tenders for conducting Tree Census across the city, Shivakumar said the work under the programme is in progress.

"Till now, 94,000 trees have been enumerated. Two wards have been fully completed in Bommanahalli zone -- Vidyapeeta ward with 4600 trees and Katriguppe ward with 4300 trees. The entire exercise is to be completed in this financial year," he added.

Noting that  Bengaluru is joining the Cities4Forests platform- A global alliance of more than 95 cities, Shivakumar said the move will facilitate technical support and knowledge sharing with cities across the globe. "With WRI India as a knowledge partner,  Bengaluru becomes the 4th city in India to be a C4F member."

To seek help from citizens in addressing water scarcity, he said, the Climate Action Cell is launching a crowd-sourcing activity for mapping of open wells. "Open wells have traditionally been an integral part of Bengaluru's water security.

"Once identified, steps will be taken to rejuvenate open wells through a scientifically developed standard operating protocol. More details will be published soon on the BBMP website," the Minister said.

The main challenge of the Climate Action Cell is to coordinate activities of many departments, Shivakumar said.

He announced the 'Fellows of Climate Action Cell' programme.

"Under this programme, we will recruit youngsters with passion and relevant experience to work on the ground to support implementation of climate actions and support the Cell in project preparation to improve resilience, adaptation and mitigation actions across the city of  Bengaluru. Each of these Fellows will be paid a stipend and will work under the supervision of Climate Action Cell. I am encouraging young professionals to use this unique opportunity to work with the Government on the Climate Action Plan," he added.