Monsoon may spell green rout

CHANDIGARH: Expect more trees to fall during monsoon. Road widening, paver blocks, irregular pruning, digging for gas pipelines and cycle tracks have made the city’s green sentinels vulnerable to storms and rains, according to horticulturists and tree lovers.
“Had the authorities taken care of old trees, they would not be falling in storms. Monsoon rain is going to make them gain weight, causing them to snap easily. The Pilkhan trees on the road dividing sectors 20 and 21 require immediate action as their roots have been exposed after road widening work, leaving no space for them to grow,” said Rahul Mahajan, a city-based horticulturalist who has been raising the issue with the authorities.




Rajnish Wattas, a city-based tree lover said, “Indiscriminate paving of roads has left no place for roots to soak water. The digging has further weakened the roots. There should be a minimum of 8 metres’ diameter around trees. In abroad, they ensure there is enough space for a tree to grow. They add wood shavings so that moisture in the soil is retained. In the name of beautification, we are damaging the trees. When the authorities were numbering trees, they could have looked into these factors.” He said it was easy to identify trees that had been eaten by termites from inside as birds start living in them.

Tree lovers said besides identification of dangerous trees, the authorities would not be able to save trees from uprooting and cutting them would be the only option left. They pointed out that if the municipal corporation (MC) and the UT administration come down to cutting dead trees after identification, a minimum of 500 to 700 trees would be lost and the gap would be difficult to fill.

Road widening work, improper pruning and termites have made trees vulnerable to storms in Chandigarh

“The damage done to these trees is years’ old. So, not much can be done to prevent them from falling. If they make a list, almost 750 trees in city will be identified. If these many trees are cut, the new plantation will never cover the gap because of less rains and high pollution levels,” said Mahajan.

He said instead of the selected 31 heritage trees inside institutes and other building, the administration should have focused on dying trees on roadsides as the 31 trees were safe inside, with termites being the only threat. “Trees on the roadside have no space, thanks to expansion and digging works,” he said.

He blamed the administration and the MC for the death of a 35 year old man after coming under an uprooted tree during the storm on June 2. The tree was completely damaged by termites. “The MC has funds to buy pruning machine, but no money to buy chemicals for keeping trees safe from termites,” he said

He blamed the authorities for carrying out pruning in an irregular manner. “In city they are pruning trees from one side and leaving the other. This is not good and will make the trees fall during storm. Every tree has a particular time of pruning. We are pruning throughout the year, which is wrong,” Mahajan added.

Santosh Kumar, director, environment, said, “The MC and the UT administration should identify the dead and weak trees and action must to taken to save the damage to life and property before the monsoon arrives.”