By Maj. Gen. (Retd.) S.G. Vombatkere

The night-time felling of 75-year-old Peltophorum trees by the Mysuru City Corporation on Hyder Ali Road shocked the people of Mysuru.

In an unprecedented expression of outrage, nearly 2,000 Mysureans assembled on the evening of Apr. 18, 2025, at the site of this “green carnage” and stood peacefully and silently with lit candles, mourning the loss of these 40 trees, which left the birds and insects homeless.

Although this public demonstration occurred five days after the “murder”, as the sun set, flocks of birds were observed flying around above their former homes in these trees, unbelieving that their nightly refuge with their nests and chicks was no more. After circling, the birds flew away, obviously to find other night lodgings.

These birds, displaced due to the trees being felled, would have sought perches in other trees, where colonies of birds had already settled to nest, feed and breed. It can be surmised that these newcomers were not exactly welcome in the earlier society of settlers. They were intruders into a space already occupied by birds and insects.

The sudden influx of birds seeking refuge causes social disruption of bird colonies, overloading and destabilizing already viable ecological systems of each tree. All this is about birds and insects, victims of tree-felling for road-widening, searching for their former habitats in 40 urban trees.

Climate change, global warming

The public demonstration on Apr. 18 indicates that Mysureans have ecological and environmental awareness. They observed, messaged each other, and spoke about the loss of habitat for birds and insects, about environmental effects of loss of shade under the trees, about loss of tree cover causing higher temperatures and reducing the oxygen in the atmosphere. Mostly unspoken but realised, especially among younger folk, is the ongoing climate change caused by global warming.

Thoughts turn to the systematic felling of millions of trees over the years, in the rich forests of our Western Ghats. This has destroyed habitats, food sources and societies of birds and insects, and of larger animals. At the global level, enormous swathes of forest on all continents have been similarly destroyed.

We understand that trees, too, have life and, when removed by chainsaws or bulldozers, they die silently. Just like displaced birds and insects, felled forest trees do not threaten humans. They cause no immediate ‘problems’ for humans.

Disruption in food chain

But when forest trees are felled, the food chain, habitats and migration routes for larger animals is disrupted or destroyed. In Mysuru city and surroundings, we have increasingly frequent incidents of man-animal conflict, when leopards, tigers and elephants stray into rural and urban spaces, and are a threat to growing populations of human societies. But this is not peculiar to Mysuru — this happening all over India and across the globe.

Many people are beginning to connect the disastrous loss of lives, property, land and livelihood caused by avalanches, landslides and flash floods, with large-scale deforestation. These disasters are significantly worsened by the sudden, unseasonal or extreme events of climate change induced by global warming. But sadly, governments are slow to understand the adverse social, economic and political consequences.

On this Earth Day 2025, it is well to recall that we humans are an integral part of the local and global environment and larger ecological systems, just like any tree or plant, insect, reptile, bird or animal. As a society and as a species, we need to realise that what we do to Earth, we do to ourselves. If we improve Earth’s environment, we improve our lives; conversely, if we destroy it, we destroy ourselves along with other life forms.

A Note On Earth Day

Earth Day is observed on Apr. 22 every year, starting in 1970. It is meant to increase awareness of the need to protect our planet’s natural resources, and as a reminder of the interconnectedness of all living things, and the importance of preserving our environment for future generations. It is also meant to encourage individuals, communities and governments to confront and manage environmental and ecological threats. The theme of Earth Day 2025, is “Our Power, Our Planet”, which focusses on the importance of collective action and individual responsibility in environmental and ecological protection.