A Thousand Cuts: Namma Trees' Agony

As the city transformed itself from a pensioner's paradise to the country's premier Silicon Valley, it took a heavy toll on me. Chain saws scythed through the verdant green foliage to make way for wider roads, new layouts (with some existing ones getting extended to seventh and eighth phases) and steel and glass office structures to house the who-is-who of technology economy.

The plight of those of us who escaped the blades of chain saw is no better. Many of us can't even withstand a minor gust of say 40 km/hr speed and the most recent one decimated around 300 trees across the city in an hour. We thank our achchey sitare that we are not located in areas prone to cyclones! Vehicular and industrial pollution have badly shaved off our life spans by choking us with poisonous fumes.

The cementing of pavements, leaving no gaps around the roots of trees, blocks intake of water and vital nutrients, besides subjecting us to unbearable heat during summers. It also cuts supply of vital nutrients to the roots and their growth gets stunted and affects tree stability. It’s not that urban authorities are not aware of all this, but they feel that leaving gaps near roots would pose a headache for them as that spot would soon become de facto trash bin and may require periodic cleaning. So they choose the easy way out.

Then there are those telecom companies laying fiber optic cables. Callow youth clad in t-shirts with fluorescent jackets come to cut through the roads using noisy machinery. Sadly we don't have four legs like animals, otherwise we would have scooted at their very sight. Often we end up as unwitting target with our roots either getting cut or exposed, endangering our overall health. Sadly Indian roads are always at 'Men at work' mode. Power, water, telecom and other sundry utility guys compete with each other to leave their indelible mark on the road, especially if it is freshly tarred.

For our well being and a good balance, our branches do require periodic pruning. However, the one we occasionally undergo is not done by any tree expert, but by the Bescom guys, who, quite literally, have their own axes to grind. They do it just to prevent branches from touching the electric wires and have no idea what tree balance means. Such lopsided pruning often leaves us unsteady and vulnerable to the vagaries of monsoon.

Amidst all this ecological mayhem the only islands of old world tranquility can be found in army cantonments dotting across the city. Only there we get to see some neatly manicured lawns and well maintained tree lined boulevards. 

Also Read: Random Jottings