Axing of 201 trees opposed

13 activists from different organisations file objections; warn intensified stir

This follows objections (if any) invited by Department of Forest owing to a requisition by Mysore City Corporation (MCC) to axe the trees for road widening works, as announced in the media on October 19.

Leading a group of green lovers, Convener, Association of Concerned and Informed Citizens of Mysore (ACICM) M Lakshmana exhorted in-charge Deputy Conservator of Forest D Yatishkumar on Tuesday to outrightly reject the plea by the city corporation. He apprised the officer that ‘surprisingly MCC authorities are set to revoke their earlier decision that was in favour of greens’.  

Of the total 201 trees, Lakshmana said he strongly opposes felling of 178 trees especially as they are listed only to benefit others, not common man.

They are 27 trees from Hardinge Circle to Vasanth Mahal junction, 28 trees on the left of Vihara road and 24 on the right of Vihara road, 99 trees from Vani Vilasa road (starting from Mahatma Gandhi’s bust) in front of Law Courts complex to M L Somasundaram Circle passing through M G road.

He reasoned that of the total 178 trees, 123 trees are on Lalitha Mahal road between Maharana Prathap Simhaji Circle to T Narsipur road.

The then Tree Court convened by the earlier DCF Shaswathi Mishra had rejected similar requisition by MCC considering the audacious protests launched by the green lovers at the public hearing on June 8, 2009.

The officer in her opinion had clearly stated that the road could be converted into a double road without chopping off the trees and had officially rejected MCC’s application on June 10.

Most importantly, Bhaskar, an advocate has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against felling of the trees on same stretch, at District and Sessions Court. When this is the reality it would lead to chaos and confusion triggering unrest in the society again, Lakshmana warned.

At a meeting held on January 25, 2010, MCC along with MUDA had decided to take up road widening works retaining the trees on Lalithamahal road. Previously, at a meeting held in 2009, a similar decision had been taken.

Balakrishna of Mysore Kannada Vedike ridiculed the forest department for its callousness when the vested interests are out to destroy nature.

H S Anand Kumar of Karnataka Rajya Kannada Sene suspected the handiwork of a mafia behind all these, as the issue is raked up again fully aware of its outcome.

Bhanu Mohan of Parisara Samrakshana Samithi bemoaned that all the memoranda related to tree felling is falling on deaf ears.

President, Mysore district (rural) youth Congress Dr B J Vijaykumar wanted to know how seriously the authorities concerned are taking up afforestation works as an alternative to cutting off the trees.

C V Shivashankar of Karunada Sene, Sethuram, Basavaraj, ‘Naala Beedhi’ Ravi fulminated forest department for acting slow.