Saving heritage trees

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 19

Having been neglected by the administration, the heritage trees, some of them over 200 years old, are being taken care of by environmentalists and NGOs. The green cover, which was recorded 1.25% in the holy city, has faced rampant axing during the BRTS project and also decreasing ground water level.

Indu Aurora, member of the Voice of Amritsar (NGO), says, “There is a lot of tree wealth in certain parts of the walled city and near the old jail road. A few months back, several among them were chopped off on the name of development. We tried to save some and succeeded, and since then, it’s being carried out on a war footing.”

These trees not just need watering but also techniques to affirm their age and thereby getting horticulturists to treat them accordingly for longer life. But sadly, no one in the administration seems to be interested, she adds. 

Her campaign also got support from several volunteers. “The kind of trees we have, some dating back to the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, we cannot ever expect to see them again in our lifetime. They need saving,” she says.

Similar efforts are being made by World Wildlife Fund for Nature in Company Bagh. With tagging of trees in the precincts of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Summer Retreat, the historic Ram Bagh gardens, this project ensures that the names of these species is provided for the visitors. The labelling has been done in collaboration with a school and now experts from the GNDU have been roped in to research and devise plans to restore them. “The project aims to not just save tree wealth, but also retain their heritage and ecological value,” said AS Soodan, one of the experts from the GNDU.