In a mysterious development, dozens of massive Neem trees (Azadirachta Indica), locally called as Vepa, in Anantharam, Kothapally, Kathalguda villages on the outskirts of Nalgonda, have suddenly dried up .
The panicked villagers are seeing some evil effect in the sudden drying up of Neem trees, as summer is the flowering season. .
Speaking to The Hindu , a school teacher from Anantaram Upper Primary School, K. Ragunath Reddy, said all the 11 Neem trees located on the school premises started drying for unknown reasons.
Even after applying fertiliser on the advice of an horticulture official in district headquarters they have failed to stop the drying up of trees.
Following a compliant, Horticulture Officer Ananta Reddy, who has inspected the site advised the villagers to use Chloro Pirapas pesticide suspecting that the trees were attacked with termites and he also advised them to feed the trees with fertiliser Phoraite as it stops root grub attack. However, the plants are showing no recovery. Not only in the school, as many as 50 trees have totally dried up in Anantaram village.
A 60-year-old woman from the village, Yerkundla Anjamma said normally the Neem trees gets fresh leaves and flowering during Ugadai festival, but this time the leaves have dried up and she had never seen such a thing in her lifetime. This is not an isolated case at Anantaram village, a number of trees in Kothapally and Kathalguda villages and trees along the Deverakonda road and some parts of Nalgonda have also dried up.
The villagers have appealed the district administration to send experts to save the trees.
