Freeing city’s trees of fetters commendable

Representational Image/ Courtesy iStock

A nexus between private diagnostic laboratories and some medical staffers came to light at a state medical facility.

The BMC will conduct a special drive beginning from today, focussing on trees in the city. The drive is to remove concrete around tree bases. There will also be an accent on removing cables and nails used for putting up small posters on trees. The week-long drive called Vruskh Sanjeevani Muhim will see NGOs and students from educational institutes participate, too.

This commendable initiative should enhance awareness of the harm these practices cause trees. If the volunteers and workers can educate people or passers-by, it will prove a fillip to this effort. It is great that youngsters will be roped in as lessons learnt through this work should hopefully be imbibed for life. There has been an excellent accent on planting trees through the city. Awareness has been created and we see some change, though creating green cover is an uphill battle. We need equal emphasis on preserving existing trees, not just planting new ones.

These natural sun umbrellas are often used as billboards by those who hammer nails into them. They then hang a banner advertising a service or products, saving on advertising space and have a convenient vantage point from which to advertise, all for free. This may seem innocuous but is harmful for trees. Hardy trees with thick trunks are favoured for this.

We also see cement very close to trees, and as a result, the tree seems extremely precarious at the base, ready to fall at times because of this foolhardy behaviour. A sustained campaign, like public awareness messages on social media, about the deleterious effects of this behaviour will go some way in reinforcing how we are killing the very trees we claim to protect. Talks about combating climate change is hollow when actions, even inadvertently, are the opposite.