400 TREES ARE SET TO FACE THE AXE ON 4 ARTERIAL ROADS

400 TREES ARE SET TO FACE THE AXE ON 4 ARTERIAL ROADS

It seems the time
has come for Bangalore to shed its garden city tag. The Bruhat
Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) road widening project on four
major city roads is all set to take out around 380 small and big trees
from the city core. Environmentalists fear that such an act would
increase the temperature in these areas by a minimum of five degrees
and also take away the much needed shade for vehicle riders.

The
road widening work has already started on Race Course road where 33
trees have been marked for felling. Palace road (1.6 km), Seshadri road
(1.2 km) and Kasturba road (0.7 km) are other destinations in the
pipeline where BBMP is all set to undertake road widening works.

Prashant
S, an environmentalist, said that on Palace road and Seshadri road
there are trees like Pongemia (Honge) which are important to keep the
environment cool. Some of the other tree varieties here include
mahogany, gulmohar, neem and many rain trees.

Rohan D’souza,
Member of Hasiru Usiru, an environmental organisation, said that every
year precious trees from the city core are falling prey to road
widening projects. “Previous year, trees over a stretch of 10 km on
Kanakapura road and Mysore road were uprooted in the name of road
widening. I don’t think one can bring back such a canopy by planting
saplings again,” he said.

However, Krishna Udapudi, BBMP tree
officer, feels that not many trees in these four roads are of rare
species and it’s not difficult to raise them again. “I do agree that on
Palace road and Seshadri road we have a large number of trees. We are
thinking of alternatives to save as many trees as possible,” he
maintained.

Udapudi added that some young trees on these roads
would be shifted to nearby areas where growth space is available. “From
Race Course road, we have shifted some trees to Hotel Taj West End
campus and the authorities there are taking care of them,” he said.