Fallen trees bear fruit for BBMP

These trees may be dead and no longer lining the city’s roads, but they have certainly been of use to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike that has been selling them to garner revenue.

Mayflowers, rain trees, gulmohars, and beltofarms are seen in many parts of the city and they are often the casualty of heavy rains and gusty winds.

The BBMP, which is responsible for trees in the city, has been able to earn a revenue of ₹27 lakh by selling the timber of fallen trees.

M.K. Cholarajappa, Deputy Commissioner of Forests and BBMP’s Tree Officer, told The Hindu that following heavy rains last year (between August and November), nearly 650 trees came down, apart from thousands of branches. “We transported all fallen trees and branches to depots across the city and after auctioning nearly 1,600 tonnes of wood, we earned around ₹27 lakh,” he said.

This year (from April till now), around 60 trees and over 780 branches have fallen owing to heavy rains. “We have already sent most of the wood to depots in Kempapura, near Old Aiport Road, Atturu, Bommanahalli, Sumanahalli, and Vidyapeeta. The trees that often fall are ones that were planted nearly 30 years ago to improve the city’s aesthetics. The root system of these trees are weak and thus, cannot withstand heavy rains or wind,” he said. Mr. Cholarajappa said the Forest Cell has sought land to create more depots.

“Most of the trees that fall are those in core zones. The depots are mostly in the outer zones and transporting them is cumbersome. We have requested the zonal commissioners and chief engineers to identify spaces, including those in neighbourhood parks, where we could temporarily keep the wood,” he said.

He added that the department was in consultation with experts to map the trees in the city, identify the species, ones that are infected or diseased and weak.

“Once the roadmap is ready, we will create a map of the trees road-wise,” he said.