Daijiworld News Network - Mangalore (MB)
 
Mangalore, Jun 24: Tree-lovers and environmentalists may have an immediate job on hand.

About thirty trees alongside the road between Mahaveer Circle (more commonly Pumpwell Circle) and Dr Ambedkar Circle (better known as Jyoti Circle) are literally facing the axe. Some of them are the Red Cedar trees, Erythroxylon Monogynum (locally known as 'Devadar'), which are rarely found around these days.

Some of them could be 50 to 75 years old, say old-timers. The stretch of road between Pumpwell and Jyoti cinema is being widened by the city administration. The contractors have already marked the divider line in the middle of the road.

Since the road between Pumpwell and Balmatta circles will be of four lanes, it is difficult to imagine how many trees and buildings may have to be sacrificed.

The Mangaluru Nagara Parisarasktha Okkoota, which has been keeping watch on tree-felling in the city, has launched a "Rastae Kavalu Samithi" (road watch committee) that includes citizens from various wards of the corporation.

The contractors have reportedly sought the forest department's permission to fell the trees. The department has stated that unless there was a joint inspection of the stretch, permission to fell the trees would not be granted.

According to the road-watch committee, at least 15 trees, esp those near the Karavali Circle, Balmatta Circle (Collector's Gate) and opposite Kumudavati buildings near Ambedkar Circle could be saved.

While mayor Ashraf says the work on four-laning and partial concreting of the stretch would be taken up shortly, he is not sure how many trees would be affected. But he has promised to have only a minimum of them felled.

However, many concerned citizens wonder while so many trees are being felled day after day, why no efforts are made to plant new trees. Further, since horizontal growth of the city is the need of the hour, there may not a necessity of the widening of the road at all, since business and traffic congestion iwithin the city could be reduced by building satellite cities.