28 July,2009 10:35 AM IST | | Urvashi Seth
After complaint over a dead tree, BMC blames termites, but tree specialist says they cannot attack a living tree Bad Treetment: A Ghatkopar resident has alleged that R City has injected poison into these trees so that they fall and give a clear view of the hoardings.
It's the proverbial David taking on Goliath. Gorak Jadhav, a Ghatkopar resident has filed a complaint with the BMC alleging that authorities of the mall R City deliberately injected poisonous chemicals into their trees and killed them as the foliage was blocking the hoardings on the mall's walls.
He also claimed that on Friday afternoon, one of the 'injected' trees collapsed. However, BMC and R City officials claim the allegations are baseless.
'Gruesome act'
Said Jadhav, "In order to get money from advertisers, they are chopping trees. It is such a gruesome act." He added that according to mall sources, the act takes place under the cover of darkness.
False allegations
Prasad Rane, marketing head, R City, insisted these allegations were false. "R City has taken every measure to protect the natural surroundings.
We have given trees periodic termite treatment to increase their longevity. A few trees are dead so we have asked the BMC for permission to chop them, but they are yet to revert," said Rane.
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Jagdish Rathod, garden department officer, N-ward, said the trees had been checked after the complaint. "The allegation is false.
The trees are affected by termites. We have already sent a notice to the mall authorities about getting them treated for termite," said Rathod.
Impossible
M R Almeida, a plant taxonomist and ex-vice president of Bombay Natural History Society, who surveyed the trees said, "No living being can be affected by termites.
It is difficult to say whether the trees were injected but the powder used for the mall's flooring could have damaged the trees' roots. However, many branches have been chopped to make sure the mall can be seen.This is illegal."
3 ways to die
Environmentalist Bittu Sahgal said, "I can't comment on this particular case but it's not unheard of. Simple acid would do the trick.
Another way would be to destroy the tap roots. A third method could be ring-barking a trunk so that the tree is unable to get nutrients and will eventually die."
