In order to take up the campaign of ‘One-day - one lakh’ saplings plantation in Karimnagar by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao in the first week of July as part of the Haritha Haram programme, the district authorities have started mercilessly felling down fully grown Nilgiris (eucalyptus) trees all along the shores of Lower Manair Dam reservoir.
Several hundreds of morning walkers, who regularly visit the shores of LMD reservoir, were shocked to see eucalyptus trees being felled by the authorities on Wednesday on the pretext of taking up plantation of other varieties of trees to beautify the shores. The authorities had entrusted the job to a timber depot contractor, who, by using mechanised saws felled down more than 360 fully grown trees.
“We are really shocked to see destruction of the medicinal eucalyptus trees, which give fresh air to the morning walkers. Why remove grown up trees for the sake of planting new saplings,” questioned a walker. “Assuming that the eucalyptus trees consume more water, what is wrong as they are located along the shores of a reservoir where there is abundant water,” he added.
A woman said that “it is really unfair to destroy fully grown trees”. She suggested that the authorities instead trim the eucalyptus trees to make them grow straight and plant other varieties of flowering plants or crotons to beautify the shores.
Ridiculing the district authorities for destruction of nature in the name of protection of environment by planting new trees, Lok Satta Udyama Samstha district president N. Srinivas advised the authorities to first remove encroachments along the shores and take up plantation.
However, the officials said that the eucalyptus trees were being removed as per the instructions of the Forest Department and by following proper procedures. “The eucalyptus trees are more than 20 to 25 years old and they should be removed at any cost. We will remove the stumps also to clear the ground for plantation of new varieties which add beauty to the LMD reservoir,” he maintained.