Saving trees: Resident transplants 4 herself

Though the civic body will not replant all the trees they need to chop at a construction site, a good Samaritan from Satellite area has tried to save four trees.

At the construction site of Indraprasth Green, there are four trees which had to be axed. And Jolly Shah, one of the residents from the neighbourhood, took it upon herself to keep them alive.

With the help of civic authorities, she transplanted four trees at a campus of the Ahmedabad University on Saturday. "I have seen the trees growing up just before my eyes and I can't let them die like this. I have heard that tree transplants are possible and I have tried to contact all the agencies who can help me. The civic body has helped me by providing the machines," said Jolly Shah.

"Of the four trees, one is neem, one is polyalthia (asopalav) and two are Millettia pinnata (kanji). They were all transplanted. I know the survival rate of such transplanted trees is low, but I have to give it a a try," said Jolly.

Jignesh Patel, director of the parks and gardens department, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), has said that the possibility of success is zero.

"We have provided them machinery as they demanded. But I would say there is nil chance of regrowing the trees due to their age, and also because of the weather," said Patel.

Experts say that in developed countries, the success rate of tree transplants is 70 per cent. "In our country, it is just 30 per cent. We don't have expertise in this field," said Manish Vaidhya, an ecologist.