Coimbatore: A 40-year old tree which was to be axed for road expansion work near Mettupalayam (MTP) was uprooted by OSAI volunteers and replanted in a forest-owned land.
Coimbatore : In a first in Coimbatore, a 40-year-old Ayamaram which was supposed to be cut to give way for Road extension near Mettupalayam, was transplanted inside reserve forest in the Mettupalayam Forest Range on Thursday.
According to sources, the tree was one of the two hundred trees that were supposed to be cut extend the Coimbatore to Mettupalayam Highway.
However, like minded people came together to rescue the tree and decided to transplant it in another place. As soon as the Forest Department offered to host the tree in their land, works began to transplant the tree to its new home near the Forest Checkpost on the Mettupalayam-Kotagiri Highway.
Various government departments including Forest Department, Public Works Department, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation and Revenue joined hands with members of Osai and Namadhu Mettupalayam to transplant the tree.
The tree was pruned and it started it’s six march from its previous home to the planting site. While the 35-year-old tree was carried with a help of a crane, officials marched along with the tree as public looked on.
“The tree was successfully transplanted around 3.00 pm and we could see monkeys and birds already on the tree in no time,” said K. Syed from Osai.
The transplanting was sponsored by Saravana Constructions private limited from Mettupalayam.