Mango tree at Raj Bhavan in good health

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A team of experts from Tree Walk, a collective of tree lovers, have assessed the health of the mango tree on Raj Bhavan premises and has submitted a report concluding that the tree is in perfect biological health and there is no need to axe it.Tree Walk, in a release issued here, said that the NoC granted by the Forest Department was way back in 2018 and the tree has withstood two summers, two monsoons, heavy wind and rain.

The team carried out the assessment on Wednesday.  In the report submitted to the Governor, the organisation  stated that any untoward incident that may happen can only be caused by deliberate human interference.  Some of the recommendations in the report are pruning of tree branches infested by loranthus by an expert team of scientists of ecologists.

The report also recommends a comprehensive assessment of tree health by the Tree protocol graam from the Kerala Forest and Research Institute to ensure the protection of the tree in the long run. Tree Walk has come out strongly against the plan to axe a 150-year-old tree inside the Raj Bhavan campus, and has petitioned Governor Arif Mohammed Khan urging him to do away with the plan.