A day after cyclone Vardah had ruthlessly uprooted many trees, a resident of Perungudi was turning an idea over in his mind.
K. Aravindan had seen an opportunity in the tragedy. Janaki Raman Salai, near Third Panchayat Link Road, the road outside his apartment complex, did not have any trees and he decided on lining it with some of the shoots of the uprooted trees.
“Branches of many trees from a neighbouring apartment complex were leaning precariously and some had already fallen. In all possibility, they would have been dumped in the garbage bin. I collected them with the help of a few housekeeping staff. After finding out which trees can be re-grown using their shoots, I started planting them ,” says Aravindan, secretary of Doshi Oriana Residents Flat Owners’ Association.
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On December 21, Aravindan was seen planting the shoots of some of the fallen trees.
“I don’t know their names, but these flowering plants grow through the stem,” he says, pointing to the bouquet of white flowers adorning the trees in the neighbouring apartment complex.
He has another reason for choosing them. “From the trees they have been taken from, I know these shoots, when they have grown into trees, will have their branches and leaves really high-up, and, as a result of this, they will not hold any attraction for cattle. So, I don’t have to invest in tree guards,” says Aravindan as he watches over the 20-odd shoots that have been planted on the street, with a 10-feet spacing. Aravindan ensures the newly planted trees are watered regularly.
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