Taking up cudgels against alleged illegal axing of dozens of trees by miscreants in their village, a section of the aggrieved villagers, including several nature-lovers, of Chimmapudi in Raghunadhapalem mandal are running from pillar to post seeking urgent intervention of the authorities to save the remaining tree canopy in their village.
The mass chopping of more than 45 fully grown tamarind trees, some of them a few decades old, by unidentified persons on the periphery of the village a few days ago, left the nature-lovers shocked.
Veteran green crusader Padma Shri Daripalli Ramaiah, who had won wide acclaim for his unique social forestry initiatives, was virtually moved to tears by the ghastly scene of the leftover tree stubs at the site, hitherto a flourishing tamarind grove, during his visit to the village on Wednesday.
Peeved over the huge loss of a vast tree cover in their village, a group of villagers submitted memoranda to the mandal level Revenue and other officials seeking tough action against those responsible for destroying the tree cover.
The role of an elected representative of the gram panchayat is under the scanner for facilitating the tree chopping on the pretext of making arrangements for construction of additional two-bedroom (2BGK) houses at the site, according to the aggrieved villagers.
“Our village has lost a huge tamarind tree grove that provided shade to farmers and cattle grazers,” said M Karunakar Reddy, a young farmer of Chimmapudi.
Dozens of decades-old tamarind trees were axed in an overnight operation by some miscreants at the behest of some influential persons five days ago, he charged, alleging that the chopped tree trunks and branches were transported in heavy vehicles to some undisclosed location for sale.
The indiscriminate axing of mature trees had negated the State government’s efforts to increase the tree cover, said Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) district joint secretary Ramesh, who hails from Chimmapudi. The authorities should take stringent action against those responsible for chopping of trees in flagrant violation of norms and prevent recurrence of such incidents, he demanded.
“The government is spending huge amounts to nurture and protect every sapling planted under the Haritha Haram and it is an irony that miscreants brazenly axed fully grown trees,” Mr Ramesh said.
Khammam Forest Range Officer Radhika said it was found during their field investigation in the village on Thursday that around 40 tamarind trees were cut down at old Chimmapudi village.
A detailed report would be submitted to higher authorities and a case under Water, Land & Trees Act would be registered against those responsible for axing of trees, she said.
