Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

6 trees felled for Chetpet subway project

By Our Staff Reporter

These trees were felled on Harrington Road on Saturday to make way for road widenings to facilitate construction of a subway at Chetpet. -- Photo: Vino John

CHENNAI, JUNE 13. In a sudden operation, Chennai Corporation personnel chopped down six trees along Harrington Road, Chetpet, on Saturday evoking sharp response from residents.

The trees were axed to make way for construction of a vehicular subway across the railway track on Harrington Road. The residents are sore because the civic body did not make any attempt to either transplant the trees or even consult the concerned citizenry.

After the operation, the civic personnel left the branches and leaves by the side of the road which were gradually removed by slum dwellers living nearby. By afternoon, only the leaves and small twigs remained.

A few residents who converged at the spot this morning said the civic body could have waited for a few more days before chopping down the trees, especially because the tenders for the subway construction work were yet to be finalised.

Corporation officials said the sudden operation was undertaken as Metrowater wanted to relocate sewer lines from the middle of the road to its sides.

The residents said the Corporation could also have looked into other options such as transplanting the trees elsewhere. Transplantation was an expensive option but cutting down full-grown trees meant a lot for the environment, said a resident.

Another resident said the Corporation could have approached locals to adopt the trees. Most of the trees that fell to the axe on Saturday were less than 10 years old. On Friday, the civic body personnel had cut two trees, a watchman of a nearby house said. The personnel told him that they would come back to axe a Gulmohar tree adjacent to the ones chopped today.

The civic body planned to cut down a few more trees on Tarapore Avenue and relocate an Electricity Board transformer from Harrington Road, the watchman said.

When contacted, a Corporation official said the replanting option was considered but later it was not found viable. However, he said, transplantation of trees could be done if the cost was met by interested individuals or organisations. Also, most of the trees along the stretch were rain-trees which grew to enormous size and became unwieldy. They were the first ones to get affected in a storm, the official said.

The civic body assessed that 15 trees might have to face the axe for the subway project.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• 6 trees felled for Chetpet subway project
• Priest to the rescue of three trapped in car
• Gutka seized from Border Thottam godown
• Book bank scheme a boon to poor students
• Polish film festival
• In Chennai Today
• Around the City

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu