By Dr. K. Javeed Nayeem, MD

A full two weeks have passed, after forty majestic copper-pod trees (Peltophorum pterocarpum) along the two sides of the Hyder Ali Road in our city, were chopped down in a very swift and clandestine operation, that was cunningly planned and quickly executed, under the cover of darkness.

It was daylight murder, at midnight. That this was done in a fashion that has hitherto been the standard modus operandi of nocturnal sandalwood looters is bad enough.

But what makes it very vulgar is the fact that this shameful strategy was resorted to, not by petty criminals but by an unholy nexus of our civic authorities like the City Corporation and the Forest Department, both of which are vested with the almost sacred responsibility of protecting our environment and the trees that are an integral and essential part of it.

How these two agencies could collectively collude with all the vested interests that stood to gain from this unholy act, only shows that for a few paltry pennies, most people are willing to sell their honesty and integrity too.

Although there has been a brisk reaction against this carnage, from many quarters, by way of condemnations, complaints and protests and although our Forest Minister has assured us that he will oversee an enquiry into the incident, nothing much is likely to happen. I say this because, thanks both to a very brief public memory and the very long-drawn progress of all such government investigations, that wind through miles and miles of bureaucratic red-tape, only to get lost, nothing ever comes                out of them.

When dozens of cases of murders, massacres and every other kind of mayhem, loot and plunder, have not seen their logical ends, over decades in our vast country, what can we expect to see in the sad end of a handful of roadside trees, in our small city? Will the guilty and the greedy be brought to book and punished for their crime and will they ever be reformed enough not to repeat their misdeeds in the future? I think not, because even if they are proved guilty, the penalties for their misdeeds are only symbolic at best.

What surprises me most is how the people in the neighbourhood failed to react to the large-scale carnage that was taking place right outside their homes and continued to sleep peacefully while the loud chain saws were mowing down so many huge trees, all through the silent night? And who were these people and what is the neighbourhood I’m talking about?

Every one of them was some kind of a senior Police Officer, residing in the three rows of their official quarters, that adjoin the entire length of the road, to which the trees lent their shade and beauty. I wonder why no one among them thought it wise or pertinent to question the tree-fellers and prevail upon them to stop their midnight activity, at least till some concerned citizens could be consulted on the necessity of felling so many trees, along both sides of a not so busy road, that was already wide enough to serve its purpose admirably well?

This looks like a perfect example of the ‘how does it affect us and why should we bother’ attitude, which most of us suffer from. Do think about it!

And, this is not going to be the last such incident too, in or around our city. Going by the reports that we keep seeing, on an off, there seem to be plans of bringing down not dozens but a few hundred more trees, in and around our city for various reasons like widening roads, expanding offices, laying water and gas lines or drawing power lines.

I don’t say that these are completely avoidable activities, because our cities need these amenities as they grow. But I feel that in all our actions and activities that may have even the slightest impact on our environment, we citizens and our civic authorities too, need to tread with caution and concern, and always in consultation with each other.

That is why we citizens, who vote and elect our leaders and then pay our taxes too, to keep our governments running, should insist vehemently that we too should have a voice that is heard in all matters that concern our lives.

Can we start a nationwide public campaign and a movement to ensure this? Because if we don’t, we will continue to see more disturbing and damaging activities around us, that will only leave us wringing our hand in despair and dismay!

In conclusion, with this poem from an unknown writer, I would like to pay my tribute to the lost trees, by extolling the beauty that they used to lend to our city, while they stood silently, without expecting or taking anything from us in return. It appealed greatly, to my senses and I hope it will, to yours too!

A golden haze, a vibrant hue,

The Copper Pod’s bright flowers, fresh and new.

A tapestry of yellow light,

A stunning, glorious, sunny sight.

Beneath the boughs, a fragrant air,

With petals soft, beyond compare.

A summer’s dream, a gentle grace,

The Copper Pod, a happy place.

From branches high, a golden shower,

A fleeting beauty, hour by hour.

A whispered song, a sweet perfume,

Banishing the winter’s gloom.

The pods, a copper, rich, and deep,

A promise of the harvest to keep.

A season turned, a life renewed,

In nature’s beauty, we’re imbued.

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