Greens join hands against felling of trees on Nrupathunga Road

Tree lovers and conservationists from the city came together on Friday against the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) decision to fell 18 healthy trees on Nrupathunga Road for developing the road under the TenderSure project.

Kshitij Urs, co-convenor, Forum for Urban Governance and Commons, said that so far the  Palike has developed 10 roads under the TenderSure project and felled at least 80 trees. On Jayanagar 11th Main, the BBMP axed as many as 21 trees and five fell because of poor maintenance during rains.

The BBMP’s decision to cut the row trees on Nrupathunga Road is a violation of the Indian Road Congress Rules. The rules say that row trees should be maintained along highways and arterial roads as they are best in controlling noise and air pollution. But the BBMP is doing the opposite, Urs added. 

N Manjunath Prasad, BBMP Commissioner asserted that the Palike has saved as many trees as possible. He said that at least 14 trees have to be axed on Nrupathunga Road. The BBMP forest wing has given permission to cut the trees.

Environmentalist Yellappa Reddy said that to save trees from being felled, the BBMP can adopt eco-engineering technology which involves tree root surgery,  canopy shaping and related techniques to give the tree a gentle slope.