Can anyone imagine a fledgling neem tree becoming a cause of headache for the administration.
It is so in the remote Sankavaram village, where four police personnel maintain a round-the-clock vigil as the sapling — Azadirachta indica — threatens to trigger a communal clash. As part of the “Neeru Chettu” programme, it was planted six months ago at a place close to the colony inhabited by people of a minority community.
People belonging to the majority community, who used to visit the sanctified stones placed near it during village festivals and family functions including marriages to offer prayers, started applying vermilion and turmeric.
Considering it as a manifestation of the mother goddess, they started worshipping it, explained a group of villagers. As more and more people started to offer prayers in fulfilment of their wishes, members of the minority community felt disturbed.
In the meanwhile, some miscreants chopped off the tree branches, triggering tension in the village. Following this, another neem tree was planted by its side by the police who nurtured it and also kept a close watch 24 x7 to maintain peace, said Kanigiri CI M. Subba Rao.
“The situation is under control.” he said.
