Over 200 trees lost, BMC accused of negligence…….Nitya Kaushik
As Mumbai lost 104 trees to heavy rains on Wednesday, the civic authority said there were three main causes for the rise in cases of trees uprooting: frequent digging of roads; increased instances of diseases in trees and; unevenly spread branches, which disturb the balance of the trees.
With the monsoon making a healthy start in the city this year, Mumbai has already lost over 200 trees to gusty winds and rains, according to the data recorded by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation from June 9 to date. Many nominated members of the Tree Authority blamed the BMC’s “lethargic attitude” for the loss.
Niranjan Shetty, a nominated member said, “Every year, during monsoon, the city loses hundreds of trees to winds and heavy showers. In the past, several steps were proposed by the Tree Authority to minimise these cases, however, the implementation has been negligible.”
Last April, the Tree Authority issued a notice to ward offices asking that a 2-foot tree basin should be build around prominent trees in each wards, and filled with soil. The idea was to strengthen the tree base before the monsoon. However, Shetty said, there has been no road-wise monitoring of the compliance of this order. “Three months ago, I asked for a road-wise specification, but I have not seen one yet,” he said.
Chandrashekar Rokde, deputy municipal commissioner, BMC, pointed out that aside from the usual problems of road digging and unevenly balanced trees, an alarming increase in diseased trees is bothering the tree authority. “I have discovered that many fully grown trees in the city are now being afflicted with a disease which causes white powdery flakes on the leaves and bark. When we investigated, we found out that food vendors habitually dispose off their wastes at the tree base thereby attracting ants and flies. Contact with these insects cause illness and deficiencies in the trees which later spreads from tree to tree. We are now thinking of measures to stop this nuisance.”
Rokde also that the department was now pondering over giving support to trees which bend to one side so that the balance is distributed. According to Amol Vasaikar, BMC horticulturist, “Every year, we carry out minimal trimming to reduce the load of the tree. However, when the weather is stormy like on Wednesday, and the wind pressure heavy, many trees that are very aged cannot sustain to velocity.”