Tree guards turn rubbish dump

Sad State

The plight of the trees and small plants that have been planted on the sidewalks and the medians in the City are going from bad to worse.

The de-silting process that was supposed to be done by the BBMP before the monsoon has not been completed yet and the base of the tree guards are polluted with garbage, concrete debris and drainage water.

Many of them have a thick layer of small shrubs and weeds, which goes to show that clearly there is no maintenance that is being done.

Seshadri, a conservationist with the Environment Support Group, points out that placing plants and trees inside these tree guards does not guarantee them the right ambience for healthy growth.

“Generally, the BBMP takes a contract to plant the seedlings, but does not do much for their proper upkeep. There is a particular way in which they have to dig the soil at the base of these plants before the arrival of the monsoon. The soil around the plants should be dug and placed like a saucer so that water can be retained. This is known as soil working. There is a lot of concrete in and around the area that needs to be cleared from time to time. Also clearing the weeds is important for the proper growth of these plants,” he states.

Nitusha, a student, says that she has spotted many tree guards in the City which have become garbage dumps.

“I don’t think they have de-silted these in the last couple of years. With construction work happening all around the City, all the waste tends to be dumped near these trees,” she informs.

Brijesh Kumar, the chief conservator of forests with the BBMP, says that de-silting of tree guards does not fall in their regular work schedule.

“De-silting is normally not a part of our job. Every year we plant seedlings and water them on a regular basis for three months during the lean period. It becomes very difficult to monitor who is depositing concrete at the base of the tree guards as there is more than one agency which is involved in construction at the moment in the City. It is not feasible to enforce a rule like no deposition of concrete in an urban area.

Moreover, we also have to look into this matter of garbage deposition as it might help in providing nutrients to the plants. I feel that citizens should be conscious about this issue,” he explains.

Rahul, a student, feels that the authorities need to take up more responsibility for the upkeep of these plants as they are in a very sorry state.

“Monsoon is the only season when they thrive. The least that the administration can do is to dig up the base so that these plants get proper nourishment. If the BBMP involves a few youth organisations, college students or even school students, the job can be done easily,” suggests Rahul.