Trees chopped on one side in New Alipore
Green crusaders said this is the story in every neighbourhood. Residents and green activists said branches have been cut indiscriminately by contract labourers engaged by outdoor advertising agencies. Environmentalists said such pruning is both unsightly and structurally dangerous. Bonani Kakkar of PUBLIC said indiscriminate cutting of roadside trees for commercial visibility was unacceptable. “You cannot hack a tree according to the convenience of a hoarding. Pruning has to be scientific and supervised by people who understand tree architecture,” she said. Green crusader Subhas Datta said the episode reflected a recurring conflict between commercial advertising and urban greenery. The civic body should immediately inspect the stretch and assess the condition of the affected trees,” Datta said. Environmentalist S M Ghosh said the practice could turn healthy roadside trees into potential hazards. When a gust hits the heavier side of such a tree, the pressure on the trunk and roots can increase sharply,” Ghosh said. Naba Dutta of Sabuj Mancha said the concern was particularly serious before puja, when temporary advertisements multiply across the city.
Kolkata: The pre-puja advertising rush has left several roadside trees along Sahapur Road and Tollygunge Circular Road severely hacked on one side, allegedly to improve visibility for flex banners and hoardings, triggering warnings from environmentalists that the lopsided trees could become vulnerable even during moderate storms. In many cases, substantial portions of the canopy were removed from only one side of the trees, disturbing their natural balance. A tree whose crown has been heavily removed on one side can become asymmetrical, increasing stress on the trunk and root system when exposed to strong winds. When branches are removed heavily from one side, the tree becomes lopsided and vulnerable to wind. “Trees cannot be treated as obstacles to advertisements. If an agency has damaged them for better visibility of its flex or hoarding, the agency must be identified and held accountable. “The crown and root system of a tree function as a balanced structure. Random cutting disturbs that balance. “This cannot become an annual pre-puja ritual. We need a city-wide protocol, under which no private contractor can touch a roadside tree without permission and technical supervision.
Otherwise, we are creating tomorrow’s tree-fall hazards today,” he said.