Trees may face chopping block

Trees may face chopping block
TIMES NEWS NETWORK


Bangalore: The collapse of a tree last Saturday due to heavy rains, which resulted in the death of RTO V G Kulkarni, has made the BBMP rethink seriously on pruning branches or removing trees which may be vulnerable to heavy rain or winds.
The BBMP held a series of meetings with various agencies and ‘green’ organisations to tackle the sensitive issue of cutting and pruning trees. The BBMP on Monday decided to involve six city-based NGOs to inspect all trees on 214 arterial and sub-arterial roads that stretch along 400 kms in the city, to either prune dangerous branches or remove the trees vulnerable to winds.
According to BBMP’s deputy conservator of forests Krishna D Udapudi, around 200 trees may be removed over the next week following the report of the NGOs. Around 1,000 volunteers will engage in inspecting each and every tree that poses a threat to life and property. Under this programme, in the last one year, around 1,500 trees which were identified as dangerous, deceased or dry have been removed, with the focus being on trees on arterial and subarterial roads.
In April and May, the authorities pruned 113 dangerous trees.