A beautiful, bountiful and lush green Neem tree, which stood strong for decades, was home to so many birds and creatures, provided shade to passerbys and was a source of oxygen to all suddenly came crashing down in the middle of the night!! With it was a nine-pin effect as electricity poles along the road came crashing down with live wires and the residences on Ch. Harsukh Marg, B5 Block, Safdarjung enclave loomed in darkness and no-power for next 24 hours!! This beautiful stood strong in front of Centre for Sight for last many decades saw its end and shall be missed by those whom it provided shade in the sweltering heat of summers.
United B 5 RWA raised the alarm…MLA Sh. Somnath Bharti immediately got BSES into action immediately, cut off power, started restoration work and PWD team chopped the tree and took it away…. The electricity poles and power supply were restored BUT, ……. BUT what about the fallen tree!!! Will it be brought back?? Who is responsible for this man-made catastrophe? This unreported incident is another alarm bell for all of us!!
Can we reflect what has caused this heathy tree and many healthy other trees across the NCR and other parts to come crashing down? We see rampart illegal concretisation around the trees despite the —- court order on the contrary. The surge in urbanisation is accompanied with increased need of space for pedestrian movement, parking space and vehicular traffic. Commercial activities and residential upsurge have led to fortified concretisation at the base of the trees leading to choking their roots… no wonder the lovely strong trees suddenly crash down on fine day! We humans do not hear them weep for years, we don’t feel their pain and we do not mourn their death…. We do not see our death in theirs!!
Alarms keep ringing, but we humans, continue to turn a blind eye, a deaf ear and a stubborn heart for immediate comforts!! When will we as humanity wake up? When will the law enforcement agencies like MCD take a note?
Often builders and house-owners in concurrence with authorities construct ramps and around trees leading to their untimely dehydration and choking. We appeal to all neighbours, friends, residents, house owners, and builders to look and feel for nature around… be upright and take these mindful calls. It’s now or never!!
