Nature versus development. It’s a recurrent theme, and a constant battle, especially in urban spaces. Development often has the upper hand. There was fresh evidence of this, when an albizia saman tree, 65 years old and an integral part of the Tambaram Railway station in the eyes of regulars, was axed recently.
The big thoongu moonji maram, as the species is called in Tamil, is said to have been felled by railway contractors for the construction of a motorway for the second entry point on the eastern side of Tambaram station. Commuters, for whom the tree has been part of the landscape and a symbol of permanence, say that while development is unavoidable, the tree could have been spared.
A resident of Madambakkam, Venkatasubramanian Balasubramanian says, “Railways could have created an island encompassing the tree and streered the development work around it, thereby saving the tree.”
Many other commuters were on the same page, and to buttress their case, pointed out how three trees had been saved on the western side through some judicious planning, while creating a commuters’ motorway in that area.
Southern Railway officials said that before the decision to fell the tree was taken, all other options had been ruled out as unworkable. They said the big, decades-old tree was smack in the middle of the motorway which had been planned as part of efforts to improve infrastructure for the benefit of commuters.
The officials said that the Railways would plant tree saplings around the railway staff colony to make up for the loss of this majestic tree.
