Citizens to protest against trees chopped on ORR

Citizen groups have decided to stage a protest on Saturday against the cutting and pruning of 25 trees on the Outer Ring Road (ORR), on the night of May 10, to give the advertisement hoardings more visibility.

Various residents and environmental groups of the Bellandur area will form a human chain on the Service Road in Iblur from 9 am to 11 am on Saturday.

The protest is a result of the inaction by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) against the repeated tree cutting by the advertising agencies and owners of the hoardings in the city, said environmental activists.

Tree cutting cases in the city are on a rise and the BBMP is not bothered about these incidents, they claimed.

More than four such incidents have been registered in the past ten months on the ORR stretch, according to Urban conservationist Vijay Nishanth. "Several complaints to the BBMP has not changed anything. The forest department of the Palike has no clue of the trees being cut in the city. Each time, more than 25 to 30 tree branches or trees have been cut," said Vijay Nishanth.

Nishanth and the team of residents have applied fungicide on the chopped tree branches and are monitoring their recovery.

"More than 200 residents and environmental activists are expected to join the human chain and the peaceful protest on Saturday, which will create awareness among the people," said Sunil Reddy, IT professional and organiser of the protest.