Continue removal of seemai karuvelam trees without any let-up: Collector

Ramnad district administration has so far removed trees on 11,565.83 hectares

Collector S. Natarajan inspecting removal of seemai karuvelam trees at Kurasankulam in Ramanathapuram district on Sunday.

Collector S. Natarajan has instructed the officials to continue the removal of ‘seemai karuvelam’ (prosopis juliflora) trees in the district without any let up.

After inspecting the removal of the trees in Kadaladi panchayat union on Sunday, he said the officials should carry out the work with full vigour and free all the waterbodies and supply channels in the district of the menace of the seemai karuvelam trees.

Inspection

Mr. Natarajan inspected the removal of the trees in waterbodies at Kurasankulam and Chinna Ayakudi villages.

At all the places, workers removed the trees by uprooting as the species had the capacity to sprout and grow again quickly if they were not removed permanently.

After the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court passed the order, directing the collectors of the southern districts to remove the harmful tree species, the district administration took measures on a war footing and started removing the seemai karuvelam trees in municipality, town panchayats, panchayat unions and village panchayats, Mr. Natarajan said.

Awareness programmes

The district administration has so far removed trees in 11,565.83 hectares even while sensitising the general public to the ill-effects of the trees by organising series of awareness programmes, he said.

This arid district was the worst affected in south Tamil Nadu.