The felling of a casuarina tree and the pruning of a few branches of a ‘kadambu’ tree on the campus of Madras Christian College, Tambaram recently angered students and professors, who even launched a campaign against it.
Students and alumni of the college termed the act unwarranted and launched an SMS campaign on Friday to protest the felling of trees on the campus. However, the students’ plan to protest in front of the college did not materialise, said a student of MCC.
The students sent text messages to college principal R.W. Alexander Jesudasan, and bursar and treasurer C. Sundaraj urging them to stop the felling of trees. The message was ‘Stop felling trees, save the woods’.
The college authorities cut the 30-year-old casuarina tree a couple of days ago, as it was preventing sunlight from falling on a solar panel. A few branches of the kadambu tree next to the Plant Bio Technology department were also chopped for the same reason.
MCC authorities claimed they are conscious of protecting, preserving and augmenting the green cover on campus. “The casuarina tree had grown out of proportion, causing damage to the buildings of the Botany department as its roots were penetrating their foundations. Its leaves were falling on the roof of the building and had clogged the rainwater outlets causing seepage to the buildings. Considering the impact of the tree, we decided to remove it after a democratic process involving the senate, students and botanists,” said Mr. Alexander Jesudasan.
