Trees, the most humble life forms, have saved humans from disasters and dangers since ages. Of course, we are being proved repeatedly that felling of trees is tantamount to failing our own future. At the same time, an outright negligence in pruning and parenting them is not justifiable.
The trees in 11th Street, Z block in Anna Nagar have reminded the residents and the Corporation of the care that they deserve. Having left unattended for years, the Savundal tree had grown horizontally and haphazardly reaching windows on the opposite side of the road. It is learnt that it was very difficult for the motorists and pedestrians to stoop beneath the branches every time they used the street. Now that the gigantic tree has been chopped down, there is none to remove the trash.
Heaps of leaves and sticks are lying here even a week after the riddance of the Savundal tree. Barks of the tree were taken along as they may be of some value. “I joined here as a driver six months back. Since then I have never seen a sweeper in this street,” complains Moorthy, who drives car for one of the residents in the street.
Another mischievous one in that road is the 30-year-old Kaatuvan tree. It is said to have pushed its roots into the sump pit in a house. The root had initially sneaked in through small holes in the sump which later burgeoned into a thick bunch.
Kannan, the watchman of the house says, “Symptoms like itching and change in colour and taste of the water are what lead us to identify the protuberance of the roots into the sump. It is feared that this behaviour of the roots may even pave way for cracks in the building. We have cropped it now but unless the tree is removed from here, the problem will persist
Moss and algae growth are byproducts of this problem.”
“The house owner will have to take a call on it and seek approval from corporation for the extraction of the 15 feet tall tree. Poo arasa maram or Veppam maram which dont scatter their roots can be grown in its place,” he added.
Regular trimming of trees and an additional knowledge about the kind of trees that would suit residential areas may help in avoiding such inconveniences caused.
(The article is written by News Today intern A Mukhil Mayuri)