46 trees cut down on Old Airport Road

Despite overwhelming opposition, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has overnight felled 46 trees on Old Airport Road and is preparing to cut down 60 more to build a signal-free corridor.

Hundreds of concerned citizens led by Vinayaka Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association and activists will form a human chain on Sunday.

“We petitioned the BBMP commissioner and the mayor two weeks ago requesting them not to cut down the trees for the signal-free corridor. But 46 trees with huge canopy have been cut down at Isro junction. Our complaints to the BBMP’s forest cell have also failed. We have been forced to take to the streets to protest against the murder of more trees,” said Aravind, a member of the RWA .

The residents said some of the trees that have  been marked for felling in future have large trunks with the size ranging from 300 cm to 400 cm in diameter. “Most of these trees are as tall as 25 metres. How can they cut such huge trees,” they asked.

However, Assistant Conservator of Forests N Shanthakumar in the BBMP’s forest cell said not all the 60 marked trees will be felled.

“The 46 trees have been felled only after we gave permission. They were not suitable for transplantation. At Isro junction, we gave permission to clear 16 trees of which eight will be translocated,” Shanthakumar said.