The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike felled a 55-foot tall Bombax or silk cotton tree (botanical name: salmaria malabarika) near Balabrooie guesthouse on Sankey Road, during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.
The huge tree, which once sheltered was a habitat for several birds and commuters has now been reduced to a stump. According to a traffic policeman on duty, the tree was axed between midnight and the early hours of Monday.
A forest department official who examined the tree for DH said that its girth was around 300 cms. This means that it was young. The girth and height of this species is much higher. But in some patches, especially towards the bottom the trunk was shredding - indicating that there was too much water content and that it was beginning to rot.
The controversial steel flyover from Chalukya Circle to Hebbal junction passes through Sankey Road. Greens claim that the felling of the tree was in violation of the injunction granted by the National Green Tribunal against the flyover project. Environmentalist A N Yellappa Reddy said that the tree was an excellent habitat for birds and blossoms well in summer. He said felling of the tree showed that the government had some vested interest in doing so.
However, BBMP officials rubbished the charges and said that the tree had become old and dangerous. "Last year two of its branches had fallen. In one incident a car was crushed and in the other a person was injured. The horticulture department and the traffic police had advised us to remove the tree," a Palike official said.
There are not more than 10 such trees in the city. The BBMP does not recommend this tree because of its size. The tree is protected under the Tree Act and permission from the Tree Authority is required to fell it, whether the tree is dead or alive.
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The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike felled a 55-foot tall Bombax or silk cotton tree (botanical name: salmaria malabarika) near Balabrooie guesthouse on Sankey Road, during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.
The huge tree, which once sheltered was a habitat for several birds and commuters has now been reduced to a stump. According to a traffic policeman on duty, the tree was axed between midnight and the early hours of Monday.
A forest department official who examined the tree for DH said that its girth was around 300 cms. This means that it was young. The girth and height of this species is much higher. But in some patches, especially towards the bottom the trunk was shredding - indicating that there was too much water content and that it was beginning to rot.
The controversial steel flyover from Chalukya Circle to Hebbal junction passes through Sankey Road. Greens claim that the felling of the tree was in violation of the injunction granted by the National Green Tribunal against the flyover project. Environmentalist A N Yellappa Reddy said that the tree was an excellent habitat for birds and blossoms well in summer. He said felling of the tree showed that the government had some vested interest in doing so.
However, BBMP officials rubbished the charges and said that the tree had become old and dangerous. "Last year two of its branches had fallen. In one incident a car was crushed and in the other a person was injured. The horticulture department and the traffic police had advised us to remove the tree,” a Palike official said.
There are not more than 10 such trees in the city. The BBMP does not recommend this tree because of its size. The tree is protected under the Tree Act and permission from the Tree Authority is required to fell it, whether the tree is dead or alive.
The huge tree, which once sheltered was a habitat for several birds and commuters has now been reduced to a stump. According to a traffic policeman on duty, the tree was axed between midnight and the early hours of Monday.
A forest department official who examined the tree for DH said that its girth was around 300 cms. This means that it was young. The girth and height of this species is much higher. But in some patches, especially towards the bottom the trunk was shredding - indicating that there was too much water content and that it was beginning to rot.
The controversial steel flyover from Chalukya Circle to Hebbal junction passes through Sankey Road. Greens claim that the felling of the tree was in violation of the injunction granted by the National Green Tribunal against the flyover project. Environmentalist A N Yellappa Reddy said that the tree was an excellent habitat for birds and blossoms well in summer. He said felling of the tree showed that the government had some vested interest in doing so.
However, BBMP officials rubbished the charges and said that the tree had become old and dangerous. "Last year two of its branches had fallen. In one incident a car was crushed and in the other a person was injured. The horticulture department and the traffic police had advised us to remove the tree," a Palike official said.
There are not more than 10 such trees in the city. The BBMP does not recommend this tree because of its size. The tree is protected under the Tree Act and permission from the Tree Authority is required to fell it, whether the tree is dead or alive.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike felled a 55-foot tall Bombax or silk cotton tree (botanical name: salmaria malabarika) near Balabrooie guesthouse on Sankey Road, during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. The huge tree, which once sheltered was a habitat for several birds and commuters has now been reduced to a stump. According to a traffic policeman on duty, the tree was axed between midnight and the early hours of Monday.
A forest department official who examined the tree for DH said that its girth was around 300 cms. This means that it was young. The girth and height of this species is much higher. But in some patches, especially towards the bottom the trunk was shredding - indicating that there was too much water content and that it was beginning to rot.
The controversial steel flyover from Chalukya Circle to Hebbal junction passes through Sankey Road. Greens claim that the felling of the tree was in violation of the injunction granted by the National Green Tribunal against the flyover project. Environmentalist A N Yellappa Reddy said that the tree was an excellent habitat for birds and blossoms well in summer. He said felling of the tree showed that the government had some vested interest in doing so.
However, BBMP officials rubbished the charges and said that the tree had become old and dangerous. "Last year two of its branches had fallen. In one incident a car was crushed and in the other a person was injured. The horticulture department and the traffic police had advised us to remove the tree,” a Palike official said.
There are not more than 10 such trees in the city. The BBMP does not recommend this tree because of its size. The tree is protected under the Tree Act and permission from the Tree Authority is required to fell it, whether the tree is dead or alive.