Tribune chowk flyover plan: ‘Axing of trees to cause irreparable green loss’

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Chandigarh, April 10

Environmentalists have said the uprooting of nearly 700 “fully grown” trees for the construction of a flyover at the Tribune Chowk will cause irreparable damage to the environment.

Environmentalists’ concern

• The cutting of the trees and the construction of a concrete flyover would increase the temperature of the area by 5-7 degrees Celsius, said LR Budaniya
• If a flyover is constructed at the Tribune Chowk, the traffic bottlenecks would shift to the next chowk
• The best way to streamline traffic is to enhance public transport, encourage people to shun private vehicles and construct a ring road

Expressing concern, they said the trees were planted in accordance with the landscape planned during the inception of the city. Fully grown mango and other species of trees had not only helped in increasing the green cover of the city but also in reducing pollution caused by traffic at the chowk.

The felling of trees would contribute to increasing the “urban heat”, as green trees prevent direct contact of the sunlight with the concrete road, said LR Budaniya, a local environmentalist. The cutting of the trees and the construction of a concrete flyover would increase the temperature of the area by 5-7 degrees Celsius, as sunlight would directly reach the concrete road, he said, added that constructing flyovers was not a solution to mitigate the traffic problem.

If a flyover is constructed at the Tribune Chowk, the traffic bottlenecks would shift to the next chowk and in such a way, it would be an endless process, and the authorities would not be able to construct flyover at every chowk. To avoid such a situation, the best way to streamline traffic was to enhance public transport and encourage people to shun private vehicles and use public transport as it would not only reduce traffic pollution but also decongest the roads, he added.

Expressing similar sentiments, another city-based environmentalist said there was no way to replace the old and grownup trees and axing these would adversely impact the green cover of the city. Development activities have environmental costs.

On a petition filed by the Run Club, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had stayed the move of the UT Administration to cut 700 trees on both sides of the Dakshin Marg and the Purv Marg for the construction of the proposed flyover connecting Zirakpur and Tribune Chowk, along with the construction process.

The City Beautiful has been developed keeping in the mind the serene environment of the Shivalik foothills and is one of the greenest cities in the country, as such instead of constructing flyovers, the authorities should look for other alternatives, said a social activist.

He further stated that to regulate traffic, the authorities should construct bypasses or a ring road so that vehicles passing through the city could be avoided. This would not only reduce the burden on city roads, but also ease the problem of traffic blockades, he added.