Trees dry up,nature lovers cry foul

The miraculous drying up of three trees opposite to the Santacruz police station,right in front of a large hoarding,has city green brigade complaining of foul play.

The miraculous drying up of three trees opposite to the Santacruz police station,right in front of a large hoarding,has city green brigade complaining of foul play. The trees that were in good condition till three months ago,have suddenly started drying up,blatantly opening up the view for a advertisement hoarding behind them,claimed Dr Ashok Kothari,a senior member of the Bombay Natural History Society and a resident of Saraswati Road,Santacruz. Kothari,who is planning to lodge a formal complaint with the Santacruz police station,suspected that toxic chemicals were poured at the base of the trees to systematically kill them.

The trees,which have been here for over 45 years,suddenly started shriveling. They were in good condition at least three months ago. Whenever a new advertisement is displayed on the hoarding behind the trees,their branches would be trimmed. But this time,it seems like somebody is plotting to destroy the trees once and for all so that easy permission can later be sought to chop them off as dead trees, Kothari said.

When Newsline visited the spot,it was noticed that the trees two bhendi trees (a sturdy,indigenous variety of okra) and one pipal were riddled with half-inch wide holes from their base to about three foot height.

When contacted,Dr Saraswathy Unnithan,a former scientist with the BNHS,said,An old practice was to make holes in trees and fill them up with mercury. This dries up the trees and makes them wither. Other cheap tricks included filling the holes with asofoetida,said some scientists.

According to R L Wani,deputy superintendent of Gardens,Tree Authority (Western Suburbs),he was unaware of the incident. I will personally make a visit to Santacruz to inspect the trees. Due action will be taken, he said.

Viral Gohil,marketing executive of Bright Outdoor Media,the hoarding company that leased out the hoarding in question,said,We have not done anything to harm the trees. We never cut trees to increase visibility of a hoarding. If a tree grows in size,we simply raise the level of our hoarding. In case a tree gets too high,or a spot gets too inconvenient for us to advertise,we just end the contract for the hoarding with the landlord concerned.

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Trees dry up,nature lovers cry foul

The miraculous drying up of three trees opposite to the Santacruz police station,right in front of a large hoarding,has city green brigade complaining of foul play.

The miraculous drying up of three trees opposite to the Santacruz police station,right in front of a large hoarding,has city green brigade complaining of foul play.