Trees

The High Court case on Sankey Road's widening, which citizens had filed against BBMP and state government, will include BDA as a party. Five citizens and the residents' association Malleswaram Swabhimana Initiative had jointly filed the PIL last month when BBMP cut 17 trees across Sankey road stretch.HC ordered a stay on BBMP's tree cutting at the time, when two of the 17 trees were still standing. Hundreds of trees are expected to be cut for road widening from Cauvery Circle to CNR Rao Circle, and subsequently till Yeshwanthpur flyover.The High Court bench headed by Justice N Kumar passed the…

I got this email from R. Sheshadri: We cordially invite you for our project presentation at ATREE, tomorrow, 22nd July,2011. It has been a very interesting study and we like to share our thoughts with you all. We have combed most forests, all around Bengalur to study interdepandance of flora and fauna, and for selection of biologically important native trees and shrubs for planting projects. Introduction to our native trees will be followed by interdependance and then selection of candidate species for planting spaces(and reasons why). All data has been classified into several tables like e.g - Native Trees for…

Resident Welfare Associations of Malleshwaram, college students, members of Malleshwaram Swabhimana, activists and volunteers from Green Peace and Hasiru Usiru, gathered on Sankey Road yesterday to protest road widening and cutting of trees. The Green Peace activists arrived early evening and climbed onto the surviving tree. This tree was saved from cutting when the stay order came on July 1. They tied banners saying ‘ No Trees No Future !'on it. Activists are camping on the rain tree till the Court decides its fate. Pic: Shailaja Varma The two activists Brikesh Singh and Shiva who climbed the rain tree will…

The Sankey Road trees might have survived longer had the Mayor Sharadamma Ramanjaneya initiated a meeting of the Tree Authority of which she is the convener. But Shardamma is not aware of the Tree Authority for Bangalore. The authority is supposed to hear the public's complaints on tree felling. Citizens and organisations can appeal decisions by forest department officials such as the BBMP Tree Officer, permitting or disallowing cutting of trees in the city. One of the trees BBMP cut during the midnight operation on June 30th-July 1st. Pic: Yogaraj Mudalgi. The top forest official in BBMP limits, Deputy Conservator…

Leo Saldanha of the city-based green NGO Environmental Support Group intervened in a move that partly led to dropping of charges against the protestors and activists arrested on July 1st during the Sankey Road episode. Protesters were objecting to cutting of 19 trees on Sankey Road for it's proposed widening from Bhashyam Circle to Malleshwaram 18th Cross. Victoria D'Souza, protester, was dragged along with the other women to the police van. Pic: Yogaraj Mudalgi. Saldanha spoke to city police commissioner Jyothi Prakash Mirji and questioned the decision of Circle Inspector of Vyalikaval station to slap charges on those arrested under…

A 63-year old former BBMP official M B Krishnamurthy, is one of over dozen people arrested so far at the Sankey Road protests. Krishnamurthy, a diabetic patient and self-confessed tree lover, spoke to Citizen Matters from Vyalikaval Police Station where he was detained along with green activists. Ironically, Krishnamurthy is from the same BBMP engineering department that is currently felling the trees for roadwidening.  Sankey Road tree felling ongoing on July 1st. Pic: Lakshmi Sharath. For the past two days Malleswaram citizens have expressed fury against the BBMP for pushing forward with its roadwidening plan along a section of Sankey…

It was a tense few hours for residents of Malleshwaram on 29th June.   Some 25 residents including activist Meenakshi Bharath had gathered near Sankey Tank at 11 am to prevent the auction of trees that were to be felled by the BBMP for widening of Sankey Road.  Tree officer and Assistant Conservator of Forests, Venkateshappa had come with other BBMP officials to initiate the auction. Protestors in a heated argument with Tree Officer Venkateshappa. Pic: Yogaraj Mudalgi. Anticipating trouble, personnel from Karnataka State Police (KSP) were present at the venue. Vinay Sreenivasa of the city's green network Hasiru Usiru requested…

You must be having a ‘special' tree in your life. Or at least a memory of - a mango tree you grew up climbing; the neighbour's Jamun tree that stained your compound wall purple; Ajji's house Jackfruit tree and its profuse yield; the Pipal tree by the river in your ‘native' village; the ‘haunted' Tamarind tree on the edge of the school compound... Tulika publishers' latest - ‘Let's plant trees' by Vinod Lal Heera Eshwer, is a book for parents as much as children. It gets directly to the point - action, not theoretical discussions. It comes with real Pongam…

It was World Environment Day last week and India had the honour of hosting the International World Environment Day 2011 for the very first time. Jairam Ramesh, our erudite and enthusiastic environment minister called trees ‘water pumps’ and paradoxically the event was devoted to ‘Forests: Nature at your service’. As a media fellow of UNEP, I was proud to sit in the audience and listen to the minister tell the world that India was among the developing nations working towards addressing the pressures of ecological change. He told us about India’s Rural Employment Act and the country’s encouragement of renewable…

Sohni D S, 14, a Class IX student replies in an instant when asked to name a threat to our environment, “Plastic covers,” she says. A much younger Rajeev Singh, 10, a class V student, lists cutting trees as a threat to our environment.Sohini and Rajeev are both students of Bangalore Scottish School in Navodaya Nagar, JP Nagar. The school with strength of close to hundred children has planned several activities on the occasion of World Environment Day (June 5th).“We want to educate our children on the importance of environment, the impact of our actions and what we can do…