“The tree guards were removed, and this exposed the young plants to stray cattle,” said a resident.
Tree guards that are not stolen can be seen lying on the road
Green is difficult to come by, and when saplings planted not too long ago are left uprooted, it feels criminal. At least, that’s how the residents of Ahinsa Khand II in Indirapuram are feeling at the moment.
“We had planted saplings and also arranged tree guards from various sources after much running around. But we were disheartened to see them uprooted. Even the tree guards have been taken away,” said a resident of Ahinsa Khand II, who was part of sapling-planting drives in the area.
Speaking to City Spidey, Jayati Jain, a resident of the Indirapuram, said the local vendors of the area are the usual suspects. Jain further said, “The tree guards were removed, and this exposed the young plants to stray cattle.”
Maintenance staff of societies deputed by RWAs prune the growth on the central verge
Another Ahinsa Khand II resident, Urvi Shah, lamented, “There was this one beautiful Kadamba [Neolamarckia cadamba] plant that we had planted in front of Gulmohar Residency. The plant was growing really well. One morning we found it uprooted and the tree guard gone. It really hurt! And we don’t know who could have done such a thing!”
The residents have urged the RWAs of the neighbourhood to depute maintenance staff to take care of the plants. “The staff has, in fact, started watering and pruning the decorative plants,” said a resident.
Besides the damaged green, there are other spots of bother as well.
Shah said authorities don’t bother to clean up after conducting anti-encroachment drives — the debris is simply left behind! “This gives a rather weary look to the entire neighbourhood,” she added.
The aftermath of an anti-encroachment drive
In the absence of a public urinal in the place, a lot of locals — auto drivers, vendors and rickshaw pullers — use certain spots for defecating, leaving the place stinking to the high heavens.
With all these ills, can the place every hope to look clean, as envisaged in the concept of Swachh Bharat?
Authorities, listening?
