‘Over 70 trees felled at Theosophical Society’

Trees that were nearly 50-60 years old have reportedly been cut down inside the sprawling campus of the Theosophical Society in Adyar, said naturalists. Society authorities however denied it.

Naturalists said that about 75 trees had been felled over the past few days inside the premises. The work began a week ago and went on till Friday, they said. A visit to the spot revealed that some of the old trees had been uprooted and the pits were covered with sand.

Several tree stumps were seen on the 200-foot-stretch from the bungalow towards the beach. Trees were cleared in a 20-foot-area from the beach side towards the bungalow.

The fallen trees were removed in small vehicles to a corner of the premises. They were chopped and the logs were stacked in the Garden area. Theosophical Society sources said Tim Boyd, the new president of the Society, had recently moved into the renovated Olcott bungalow. \The trees that were cleared line the path that leads from the bungalow to the beach.

On earlier occasions, sandalwood trees on the campus were targeted by thieves. Nearly 50 sandalwood trees have been cut down, sources at the Society said.

This is the second instance of felling inside the Society premises, said insiders. Some months ago, two acres of land were cleared. At that time, there were quite a few objections, but they were not taken seriously, they added.

S. Harihara Raghavan, general manager of the Society, told The Hindu that they had not cut the trees inside the campus. “We only trimmed some of the trees. There was some wild growth, which blocked the passage way, so we cleared a stretch,” he added.