Collateral Damage: ‘Heritage Tree’ May Bear Brunt Of Rly Station Expansion, Claims Intach Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar:  A 200 years old Banyan tree outside Lingaraj Road railway station in Odisha capital may become a victim of its expansion and modernisation plan.

Convener of Intach’s Bhubaneswar Chapter Anil Dhir, during a recent visit, found a demarcation line touching the base of the tree. “The officials at the spot informed that the station boundary wall would be made. There are chances that the entire tree will be cut down, or the roots damaged to a great extent. The wall can be easily made around the tree keeping it intact,” he opined.

A major portion of the canopy has already been cropped for the construction of the two storied building under the Amrit Bharat Stations Scheme, he said.

Pointing out at the irony of the situation, he added that  project board on the site says that it is a “Eco-friendly Green Building Structure”.

Dhir has written to the Railway authorities for stopping all construction which will harm the tree. “During the Ekamrakhestra Beautification plan undertaken duringthe last regime, more than 150 trees in and around the Lingaraj Temple were chopped down indiscriminately. On July 15, 2023,  14 temples in the old town were struck  by lightning during the afternoon. The Dadhineuti of the Rameswar Temple was totally damaged, and even the Lingaraj Temple had suffered two lightning strikes.  This was a result of the trees around the temples having been cut,” he claimed.

He further informed about Intach’s Bhubaneswar Chapter undertaking a project to document and list the Heritage Trees of Ekamrakhestra.  “The entire Old Town area has been mapped and every heritage tree is being listed. Assistance from experts of the OUAT and the Botany Department of the Utkal University is being taken to identify and determine the present condition of the trees. Intach has already identified 250 trees that are more than 100 years old in Ekamrakhestra area. Most of these are banyan and peepal trees. Intach Heritage Club Members from different institutions including the Centurion University are assisting in the survey,” he said.

According to conservationist Biswajit Mohanty,  the Maharashtra government has put in place an action plan to protect trees older than 50 years in urban areas, dubbing them as ‘historic trees’.  “The plan that was passed in June 2021, included the concept of heritage trees and conservation, a process to define the age of the tree, guidelines to be followed before cutting down trees, forming a Maharashtra Tree Authority, tree census, selecting a tree plantation land, and fines imposition for cutting trees. According to the notification of September 2021, any tree, regardless of the species, is categorised as a Heritage Tree if it is over 50 years old,” he said.

Intach has written to the Government to frame an Act on the lines of Maharashtra for declaring all old trees as heritage and give them the protected status, he added.