Planted by British, deodar cover shrinks in Palampur
Palampur, February 19
The town has been continuously losing deodar trees over the years. Deodars that add to the beauty of this place attract hundreds of tourists every year. In the past 10 years, a large number of deodar trees have dried up but the government has not taken any steps to find out the reasons for it. There was a time when Palampur boasted a dense cover of deodar trees, which has shrunk now.
The Forest Department claims that due to global warming and rising temperature, the growth of deodar trees has been affected not only in Palampur but also in other cities and towns of the state like Dharamsala, Dalhousie and Kasauli.
The British had planted deodars in these places. However, at the same time, over 1,000 deodars planted on the campus of CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, Palampur, by former Vice-chancellor GC Negi have grown well and have not been affected with any disease.
There is no post-plantation care. The state government had developed the Chander Shekhar Vatika near the SDM residence in 1992; the then Prime Minister Chander Shekhar had planted deodar trees there. However, it is in a state of neglect today and the Forest Department has virtually abandoned it. No tree exists there and the area is covered with wild bushes.
Various voluntary organisations and environmentalists have expressed concern over the felling and lopping of deodars in the city. One deodar tree takes 70 years to grow fully. Palampur and Mussoorie (Uttarakhand) are the only hill stations in the country where deodar trees are growing at a height of 3,000 feet to 4,000 feet.
