A day after 24 trees were chopped at the trunk on Marathahalli Outer Ring Road, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s forest cell has written to the civic body’s Revenue Department on Friday to ascertain the legality of hoardings in the area.
On Wednesday night, unknown people cut the trees, some of them less than five years old, on the busy ORR stretch. The forest cell officers say this could have been done to facilitate a better view of a hoarding on Marathahalli bridge or by cable companies who were drawing wires. “We have written to the advertising and cable departments to find out if the hoarding was legal and to get the names of cable operators in the area,” said Taranath, Range Forest Officer, BBMP.
Meanwhile, tree conservationist Vijay Nishanth, who sprayed fungicide on the trees on Friday, said the trees will recover in time. “The roots are intact and new leaves and branches will sprout soon. As there is a case in Lokayukta on trees being cut for advertising hoardings (after 17 trees were poisoned at Marathahalli in March), we hope strong action will be taken and this menace will stop,” he said.
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