After an effort lasting many hours, about a 75-year-old Bodhi tree facing the axe to pave way for the Road Under Bridge (RUB) project under way in the city was transplanted on NIFT-TEA Knitwear Institute premises, situated about 8 km away on Thursday. The 30-feet high tree, with a trunk circumference of 16 feet, was pulled out from the ground with officials from forest and police departments, and agriculture scientists, supervising it.
The whole episode of transplanting the ‘gigantic veteran’ began after a NIFT-TEA Institute team led by its chairman Raja Shanmugam, and T.R.Ramanathan, a nature activist and senior chartered accountant, approached the Railways to get the permission to save the tree which, otherwise, was planned to be cut down.
The tree, which stood as a silent spectator to the progress of Tirupur from just another remote town to the knitwear capital of the country, was standing right on the mouth of the RUB project that is under construction to connect Uthukuli road with the northern side of the city through a passage dug beneath the railway track.
Resting place
“The tree is also a favourite resting place for people and a preferred parking space in the earlier years before a small temple came up just adjacent to it,” recollected P. Rengasamy, a 74-year-old resident of the city.
Collector M. Mathivanan, who visited the spot to witness the transplanting process, complimented the interest shown by people concerned to save a tree.
Industry leaders like S. Duriasamy (Tirupur Exporters Association), T.R.Srikanth (Tirupur Export Knit Printers Association), V. Ponnusamy (South India Hosiery Manufacturers Association), and Ahil Mani (Tirupur Industrial Federation), were also present.
