After planting them recently at New Link Road in Juhu, they are putting up paver blocks, leaving only about half a foot of space around the saplings
It has been around a week since the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) planted saplings in place of dead rain trees at new Link Road in Juhu, but locals feel the newly planted trees will also die because the authorities have started putting up paver blocks, leaving less than half foot space surrounding each tree.
A local said the BMC just wants to finish the paver blocks job in a hurry and is not bothered about the trees
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It should be noted that some of the saplings have started drying up and the locals allege that the BMC is also not watering the plants on regular basis. In the month of December 2014, mid-day had done an article (‘25 rain trees in Andheri on the verge of death’) in which it was said that 20 rain trees on the New Link Road between Juhu JVPD signal and D N Nagar, and five trees in Seven Bungalows were infested with parasitic mealy bugs.
After the trees died they were removed by a BMC contractor. The BMC then planted saplings there, and in around 30 places on the New Link Road between Juhu JVPD signal and DN Nagar more than 10 days ago. But in the initial week it was also observed that these plants were not being watered and some of them had started drying.
Speaking to mid-day a local resident said, “The authorities have just planted the trees for the sake of planting them, but they don’t seem to have the intention to water them. What is more shocking is the fact that once again they are fixing paver blocks around the trees, leaving less than half foot of space surrounding them.
They should keep more open space surrounding the tree trunk.” Another resident said, “BMC is fixing paver blocks around the trees because it just wants to finish the job in a hurry. No one is concerned whether the trees live or not.”
On Wednesday mid-day visited the area and found that while the saplings were watered, paver blocks were being fixed around the trees, as locals said, after keeping very little space around the trees. The locals have even alleged that the rain trees have been killed by some people deliberately.
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