Coimbatore, one of the cities selected for smart cities project, is witnessing development in terms of provision of pedestrian pathway, pavements and road works. While development is welcome, indiscriminate works without application of mind prove to be a cause for concern. One fine example is contractors concretising tree basal area or covering it up with bitumen and tar topping.
This will result in the roots not getting adequate water over a period of time and gradually leading to the death or whithering of trees.
It is a common sight to see trees with basal area covered with concrete or bitumen in R.S. Puram area, says A. Ravi Kiran of the Botanical Survey of India - Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Coimbatore.
Metro cities such as Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad have strong tree protection committees and the government departments approach them to remove, relocate or retain trees for the development projects.
Whereas during road expansion works in and around R.S. Puram, one could find many tree bases covered with concrete and tar. Such works carried out in a hurry has no idea about percolation, groundwater recharge, latent heat and permanent wilting, nature lovers lament.
When asked, Corporation officials said that they would sensitise the field level officials and tell them to inspect the stretches where works were going on and instruct the contractors to leave minimum required space around trees in the form of a small pit for rainwater to percolate.
