JOIN USThe dream of making the city a green one, remains in the pipeline, as trees are being felled blatantly here.
The city was once home to numerous trees, but the numbers have decreased now. Other than Double Road, Court Road and the national highway stretch from the forest department office till Somawarpet, roads and layouts hardly have any trees. In some cases, trees are sawed down by shop keepers to facilitate display of their boards.
Residents too fell trees which hide the beauty of their houses. Although Chamarajanagar Urban Development Authority has directed beneficiaries of sites to plant saplings, nobody cares.
Nature-loving residents are a handful in the city. They have grown trees and shrubs of various species on their premises. To their dismay, stray goats enter their premises and eat them up.
Every year, the city municipal council allocates funds to plant saplings.
But, the programme has not been initiated till date, leaving the roads deserted. In the 2012-13 budget Rs 3 lakh was reserved for the purpose and Rs 5 lakh in the 2013-14 budget.
Srikantappa, a resident, says, the city has lesser trees now compared to previous years. “The digging of roads to lay water pipelines or cables also contribute to felling of trees. If development works are taken up scientifically, trees could be saved,” he said.