Authorities urged to translocate trees from Warangal prison premises
Activists urge district administration to move them to the proposed site of new central jail instead of cutting them down
Warangal Urban: Environmental activists have urged the district administration to translocate the trees from the premises of the erstwhile Warangal central prison to the proposed site for the central jail on the outskirts of Warangal city instead of cutting them down.
Several activists including Potlapally Veerabhadra Rao, an advocate and founder of the ‘Vana Seva Society (VSS)’ said that there were nearly 200 trees and some of them more than hundred year old.
“The State government, which is implementing steps including planting of the saplings under the Haritha Haram programme, should consider the translocation of the trees from old jail premises. Margo, Peepal, tamarind, mango and some rare trees are on the 60 acres of the site where Chief Minister K Chadrashekhar Rao laid foundation for the construction of multi-super specialty hospital,” said Veerabhadra Rao, adding that the Water, Land and Trees Act-2002 must be implemented to protect the environment.
Annam Saritha, another activist, said the tree translocation was being done in several cities including Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad in India, adding that trees like gulmohar, margo, jamun, mango, peepal and other ficus species can be translocated easily but with utmost care.
“Once the tree is identified, the earth around the roots at least four feet in diameter and depth is dug and the roots are treated with chemicals to help in the transportation, and the branches are also pruned before transporting it in a trolley to the new place, where a root ball trench has already been made and the soil has been treated with anti-pest and anti-disease chemicals,” she explained the process adding that there is a need for close monitoring on the translocated trees for at least two months.
When contacted, District Collector Rajeev Gandhi Hanumanthu said that they would definitely consider translocating the trees. “As a part of its efforts to promote sustainable and green methods of construction, the government will ensure that the old trees would not be cut down for the construction. We will see that some of the trees would be translocated before taking up the construction,” he added.
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