Greens allege trees being poisoned with acid in Bengaluru to park vehicles

BENGALURU: The city has witnessed an increase in daytime temperatures over the last few years due to the dwindling tree cover. The rains over the last few days have also led to many trees being uprooted and branches breaking off. In the midst of this, some people are killing trees by poisoning them to park their vehicles or because it blocks the view of their shops or houses.

Environmentalists are expressing concern about the threat posed to trees by pouring acid at the base or poisoning them. Recently, a video was doing the rounds on social media alleging that trees are being injected with acid in Malleswaram to create space for vehicles.

‘Tree doctor’ Vijay Nishant, expressing concern over the increasing tree falls, said, “There was an incident recently where miscreants poisoned an old tamarind tree just so that their house is visible. The owner of the house poisoned the tree stump by making holes in it. Some kill trees by injecting acid while some others remove trees in front of their houses or on their sites”.

“Citizens are experiencing record high temperatures, lack of rainfall and water scarcity, mainly due to a lack of trees”, he added.

Environmentalists have expressed concern over the trend requested people not to resort to such methods. “The city recently registered a record high temperature of about 40 degrees Celsius recorded. Trees are very much needed to keep the surroundings cooler. It is illegal to poison trees just to make a house visible”, they noted.

Vijay Nishant warned that if people harm trees, cases can be registered against them.