Concretisation, trimming, depleting groundwater taking toll of trees
| Date :10-Sep-2023 |
By Kaushik Bhattacharya
Uprooting of trees during thunderstorms has become a matter of concern for the civic body as well as for the citizens. The recent thunderstorm in city caused uprooting of hundreds of trees in a span of half an hour leaving one perplexed. The uprooted trees blocked roads, caused damage to public and private properties, and also led to power-cuts. According to a recent survey conducted by the Garden Department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), about 230 trees, some of them decades old, got uprooted across city due to thunderstorms in last four years. Most such incidents were reported from areas under Laxmi Nagar and Dharampeth zones. Both the zones have highest road side tree density in the city. According to survey data, 30 trees were uprooted in 2019. The number rose to 48 in 2021. However, in 2022, the city lost around 94 trees during storms. In April this year, thunderstorms claimed 34 trees while a similar number of loss of trees was reported in May. “Depleting groundwater level, concretisation, disease, damage to roots and uneven trimming of branches are major reasons behind uprooting of trees, especially during thunderstorm. Some of the causes are man-made while some are natural factors leading to the loss,” Amol Chourpagar, Garden Superintendent told The Hitavada.
“Uprooting of trees is a common phenomena. It is not a major concern till it is natural, but in Nagpur, uprooting of trees is happening due to man-made reasons also,” said Chourpagar. “We have conducted de-choking of trees throughout the city to avoid their uprooting, in recent time,” he added. As per the sources, NMC previously conducted trimming of trees in city but this practice has stopped now. Currently, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) is conducting trimming of branches near electricity line. “Trimming of branches is a regular activity for us. In every 2-3 months, we conduct this activity in different parts of the city to avoid power supply interruption,” said Yogesh Vitankar, Dy CPRO, MSEDCL. “In the recent time, NMC conducted massive plantation drives in city. Most of the trees were Subabool and Gulmohar which grow quickly. These are the species which are mostly uprooted in city in recent times,” claimed Vitankar.
Green activists blamed the increase in tree uprooting incidents in city is due to haphazard development, including cement concretisation of roads. “Nagpur is growing vertically, population-wise, resulting in more extraction of ground water. Bungalows are being replaced with multi storied buildings, hence, more ground water is extracted. This results in ground water table going down, thus, the roots of trees do not get required ground water,” said Kaustav Chatterjee, Founder, Green Vigil Foundation. “Similarly, due to the concretisation, most of the trees are getting choked. Thus, hardly any water is percolating down. Another reason for the tree uprooting is trimming of branches of trees by the citizens, resulting in disturbing the centre of gravity of the tree,” Chatterjee added. “There is a need to conduct a study to find out the exact reason behind the uprooting of trees and the civic body should also frame a plan to curb this,” said the green expert.