Media Impact! MCC & Forest Department Cut 3 Dead Trees in Town Hall Premises
Mangaluru: On Friday, 20 September our journo friend in media, Ravi Posavanike, a pro-photographer with TOI had published photos of three dead/dried up trees ( two coconut and one palmyra (palm) trees) which were acting as an eyesore to the landscape of Kudmal Ranga Rao Purabhavana (earlier Town Hall), and also posing danger to the public, in case of heavy winds could knock down these trees on parked vehicles or pedestrians.
Having seen the report in the national daily newspaper, the officials of Mangaluru City Corporation along with the officials of Forest Department got into action, by hiring workers in chopping down these three tree on Saturday, 21 September 2019 in the morning- and it took just a couple of hours for these workers to do their job. It was kind of an entertainment day for Yours Truly- while enjoying and clicking a few photographs of cultural events as part of PAGE ‘World Alzheimer’s Day’ celebration at the Town Hall, and simultaneously running out into the parking lot and clicking photographs of the workers chopping down of the three dead trees- it was indeed a fun Saturday morning.
BEFORE…….
Our sincere thanks to photographer Ravi for highlighting a safety hazard issue and officials of MCC and Forest dept for taking quick action in rectifying the issue. So we have now one issue solved due to media involvement, but there are still quite a number of dead or decades-old trees which are posing danger to the motorists and pedestrians in the City, which the MCC and Forest dept should also take quick action before they come crashing down on vehicles or people. If you go around the Smart City – Mangaluru, it definitely doesn’t look Smart having a bunch of old trees that are on the verge of falling down, any time. I am not against having trees in the City which are good for the environment, but I am against having decades-old trees having branches spread over the busy roads, which may break and fall anytime on moving vehicles or people, during a hail storm or heavy winds. And for that matter, no one has given any attention to this safety hazard.
In spite of falling tree branches and also trees getting uprooted and causing heavy damage to buildings, property, vehicles, and also injuring commuters, the district authorities and MCC Officials have not taken any action in trimming branches or chopping down old hazardous trees. During the days when the city was lashed with torrential rains, and gusty winds, there have been quite a few incidents of trees being uprooted or branches landing on building/homes.vehicles and people. Even though no lives were lost or any serious injuries occurred, but there had been damages to property and vehicles
…….AND AFTER
They say that the main reason for tree fall is: Without daily care, trees get diseased, the trunks become hollow, and roots weak, which results in the trees becoming top-heavy and easily cracking or getting uprooted during heavy winds, and thunderstorms. With thunderstorms that had seen a few trees/branches falling, which the city experienced in the past could well have taught Mangaloreans something: While ‘Plant more trees’ is a well-intended call, ‘take care of the ones standing’ would be more apt and important. Many people think trees can grow by themselves and do not require daily maintenance. That’s not true. Every tree should be watered daily – from the oldest to youngest. The city’s planning only looks for infrastructure but forgets the trees.
Infrastructure is planned depending on where it has to come. Similarly, even trees should be taken into consideration. In the past during monsoons, scores of old trees fell all over the city following strong gales, resulting in damages to vehicles and property. Most of the trees had no room for their roots to spread out and this led to gradual decay. The concerned authorities are expected to monitor a city-wide “tree census” to determine how many trees are really a danger to traffic or at risk of falling down during heavy rain and strong winds. Trees which are unable to bear the air pollution and decaying should also be identified. But seems like no one is doing their job right- and as a result, we have trees come crashing down on vehicles etc now and then.
The problem with our MCC authorities is that they wait till the trees fall, and then only take action – like many trees had fallen due to rains. The safety of pedestrians and of all road users should be the first and most important priority for National Highway authorities and also local authorities and also for a State body that has the responsibility in this area. Some of these trees may have a disease, which is a clear indication of root rot. Through this report, Team Mangalorean is asking as a matter of urgency that these old trees are inspected and that those that appear in any way dubious should be promptly removed, or at least their branches trimmed before they crash down resulting in injuries or death to motorists or pedestrians. Thank You
