3,000 trees along drains to be pruned

The civic body to take a decision on transplanting more than 1,000 trees

A day after the death of a bank manager in tree fall in K.K. Nagar, the Greater Chennai Corporation has identified more than 3,000 trees along the alignment of new stormwater drains in the city.

While Mayor R. Priya told presspersons that the fall of the tree could not be attributed to the digging up of the earth for the stormwater drain as the trench was some distance away from the tree, the civic body nevertheless launched an operation to prune the trees. The civic body has decided to prune branches, reduce the weight of the trees and fasten the weak trees with a stay rope to prevent their fall.

On Saturday, the Corporation started pruning the trees along the new alignments of stormwater drains in the city. 

According to one estimate, more than 1,000 trees may have to be transplanted or removed in various parts of the city along new alignment of stormwater drains. A decision will be taken based on the request from residents and order of the State government. As the cost of transplanting a tree was high, a decision was expected to be taken after a study. Once a dangerous tree was removed based on demand from residents, the Corporation would plant 10 trees in the same neighbourhood to compensate for it. 

The Corporation has sent a circular to all zones to promote safety of residents and motorists along the alignment of stormwater drains. According to the circular, continuous steel barricading had to be provided from the stage of earthwork to the stage of putting on top slab of stormwater drain construction. The barricading had to remain till the work was completed. Tying of red tapes between the barricades should be avoided and contractors would be penalised as per the tender conditions. The field engineers should keep a close watch on the work and provide steel barricading. 

Wherever steel barricading was not provided, casuarina poles would be used. Fluorescent stickers would be provided at all turns of the barricaded stretch to make it visible at night. Caution boards would be erected at the sites.