Felling of 877 trees for Cuddalore-Madapattu Road widening work begins

Trees include two species categorised as ‘Near Threatened’ according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s list.

Hundreds of fully grown decades-old trees, including two species under Near Threatened Category, are being felled for road widening and improvement of State Highway Roads covering 37 km from Cuddalore to Madapattu under the Chennai-Kanniyakumari Industrial Corridor Project. The main road is proposed to be widened to two-lane to Madapattu with paved shoulders, for which trees lining the road on both sides need to be felled as per an Initial Environmental Examination submitted by the Highways and Minor Ports Department. The project also involves one bypass at Panruti, one major bridge, four minor bridges and 77 culverts for the road.