While many structures have been demolished by the civic body to widen a bottleneck on the road at Vastrapur, what has irked the local residents is that the administration is also wielding the axe to chop a 70-year-old banyan tree.
To save the tree, environment activites have started a social media movement, and the campaign’s message has gone viral.
It states: “Dear and respected Amdavadis. This is urgent. There is a banayan/ficus/vad tree, around 60 to 70 years old, which is an amazing roosting site for approximately 100-odd parakeets at Vastrapur Village, just near the triangle.
“Here, the road widening work has been started and the the tree will soon be chopped off. We urge you to support us to save this very old resident, a silent servant. Kindly give a call to Director, Parks and Gardens, AMC Jignesh Patel, to save this tree and not relocate it.”
This WhatsApp message. has been circulating for the past week and has now been endorsed by many students.
“With some students’ help, we have counted that there are more than 500 parakeets residing on it. This tree should not be transplanted. It is a huge resting site for the birds,” said Yatri Baxi, from Paryavaran Santri, one of the senders of the message.
After the viral message, director of parks and garden, Jignesh Patel, has received more than hundred calls since Wednesday. “I have been receiving calls regarding the tree issue. We are not doing anything about it. The widening work is going on and we haven’t decided whther to chop the tree or transplant it or keep it at the place itself.”
CIVIC CHIEF’S SHAKESPEAREAN RESPONSE
Asked to comment on the tree issue, Mukesh Kumar, municipal commissioner, said, “It is like, to be or not to be, that is the question. We are examining technical aspects and then will take decision.”
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