Coimbatore: Learning seed germination and pollination since childhood, it may not strike a chord of surprise to many when hearing that trees and plants travel long distances. But, they only resort to travel in the form of seeds and saplings that grow into big trees many years later.
Coimbatore: Learning seed germination and pollination since childhood, it may not strike a chord of surprise to many when hearing that trees and plants travel long distances. But, they only resort to travel in the form of seeds and saplings that grow into big trees many years later.
However, for Coimbatoreans who have seen trees navigating through the heavy traffic on numerous occasions, they know that it is not a regular spreading of life from one to the other, but the transfer of life from one place to another.
Sunday however, marked a significant event in the history of tree transplantation wherein a 75-year-old Peepal tree travelled all the way from Tirupur to Coimbatore to make way for an operation that would be etched in the memories of many.
The tree that was originally rooted on a land belonging to the Tirupur City Municipal Corporation (TCMC) at Town Hall was to be axed to give way to constructions in the Town Hall arena. Since the tree was more than 60 feet tall and has been an important part of the ecosystem, people concerned had called K. Syed, the Founder of Marangalukku Maruvazhu Amaippu.
Syed, who has years of experience in translocating trees, started looking out for people to offer land for the new tree.
“This is already a big tree and would need a bigger land to keep growing healthy. But as soon as the word was out, Sakthi Constructions from Coimbatore came forward to host the tree in their property in Kalapatti,” he said.
The tree was then pruned and started its 45 km long journey on a truck, which according to Syed, is the longest distance travelled by a tree meant for translocation in Coimbatore.
“We have translocated more than 50 trees so far in Coimbatore and the maximum distance would be less 25 kms as the trees would be transferred within the Coimbatore District. This is the first time, we have taken a tree from one district to another and hence had to cover a long distance,” he told the Simplicity.
The work began on Sunday around 7.00 am and was carried out by TCMC, Tirupur District Collectorate along with contributions from Police, Revenue, Highways, Tangedco and volunteers.
“It is heartening to see so many get involved for the cause of trees and if this continues, we can save more trees that face the axe of development,” Syed opined.
The tree was successfully transplanted around 2.00 am in the morning.