Public missing from tree axing meet

The public consultation organised by the forest department to cut 1,833 trees to widen the state highway-35 between Anekal and Sarjapur received a tepid response with only 10 people taking part in the meet.

Of the 25 people who had attended the meet, more than 15 people were either from the forest department or Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL).

Residents appealed to the department to retain all the trees rather than axing or translocating them.

A member of Voice of Sarjapura Group said: “Why cannot the government develop the stretch as heritage corridor by retaining both the trees and roads?”

Vijay Nishanth, tree conservationist and member of the bio-diversity board, BBMP, urged the authorities to maintain a digital database of trees that are planted in place of axed ones and upload their status in the public domain.

Venkatesh, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Bengaluru Urban Forest (South), said a total of 1,833 trees are marked for axing for the project.