In a move aimed at retaining green cover, a fully-grown neem tree was translocated from a piece of land belonging to the police department to a few metres away from the site near the Telugu Desam Party district office here on Tuesday.
The move was necessitated to pave way for construction of the camp office of the Assistant Commissioner of Police at the site located in the prime locality of the town.
The giant tree aged around 20 years was uprooted with its roots intact using an earth-moving machine and a crane by the personnel of the Hyderabad-based Green Morning Horticulture Services private firm late on Tuesday afternoon.
The well-grown tree was planted at just 10 metres away from the site in adherence to the scientific method of translocation in the presence of Khammam Police Commissioner Tafseer Iqbal.
The entire operation lasted more than an hour even as curious onlookers watched the translocation process with bated breath.
Translocation is the scientific option to retain the fully grown trees and prevent their axing during development activities like road widening and construction of buildings, said A Ramachandra of the firm that translocated the mature neem tree.
We take utmost care to facilitate regeneration of the translocated tree by adhering to the scientific techniques, he told The Hindu .
The survival rate of translocated neem trees is around 60%.
