DINDIGUL
Little shoots have sprouted on the 100-year-old peepal tree (Ficus religiosa), ‘arasa maram’ in Tamil, 19 days after it was relocated to the Collectorate campus here.
Tender green and light maroon shoots have appeared on the tree trunk and new branches too have come up from the bottom. Several tender leaves have pierced through the jute sacks that covered the trunk to protect it from heat.
Assistant Director of Agriculture P. Suriliappan, who was instrumental in removing and transplanting the tree, said perfect planning and meticulous follow-up ensured survival of the plant. The people involved in the process were expecting that shoots would appear from 28 to 45 days after relocation, but surprisingly it had started early.
The tree trunk, weighing around 30 tonnes, was taken for more than 10 km to reach the Collectorate campus from a private land. The relocation process was complete in a little over four hours.
Five truckloads of soil (thaai mann) collected from its original place was filled into the pit after transplanting the tree trunk. One layer of ‘thaai mann’ and another layer of soil removed from the pit were filled. Application of effective micro-organism (liquid cow dung) into the pit expedited the growth of roots, he added.
Mr. Suriliappan advised the people involved in relocating the tree on watering the tree as excessive watering would lead to rotting of roots, said the maintenance workers.
Mr. Surliappan had adopted the same technique he applied in Tirupur to relocate a 130-year-old tree on the Collectorate campus. He had also relocated several 50-year-old trees in Tirupur.
DindiMaVanam, a social greening organisation, joined the mission of relocating the tree to the Collectorate campus from a private land near Cosmopolitan Club, in a first-of-its-kind effort in Dindigul. The private textile group that had leased the land and DindiMaVanam foot the expenses for relocating the tree and maintaining it.
