MAHABUBNAGAR : Two massive trunks of the famous Banyan tree, popularly known as Pillalamarri, in Mahbubnagar came down crashing late Sunday evening. The banyan tree is estimated to be almost 700-year-old and is a major tourist attraction in the district as well as the State.
As the tree was infested with pests, there was a continous decay of its trunk. All the efforts of the officials to stop the tree from further decaying went in vain and the trunk crashed down on Monday. The two trunks were the main attraction of the entire tree.
Many tourists who came to watch the tree on Monday were disappointed at the site of the behemoth tree lying flat on the ground. District tourism officer Panduranga Rao told Express that the the branches had fallen off after weaking. He said that there was no damage due to the fallen branches. “We have provided treatment to the tree two months ago,’’ he said, adding that they would take all steps to protect the famous tree. Meanwhile, district collector Ronald Rose on Monday visited the tree and banned the entry of the tourists in the area for three months.
As the trunk started to decay, officials took help from the Forest Research Institute in Warangal to restore the tree. Officials, who termed the tree’s destruction as a man-made, said the problem started a couple of decades back when the tree was developed as a tourist centre. To facilitate tourists, branches were cut down. Concrete structures were built around some branches where tourists could sit. Dry leaves on the ground were swept away and set on fire every day to make the area look clean. Check dams were built on a local stream to arrest water in the forest area, affecting the tree as it is located in the downstream. With successive drought years, the groundwater depleted.
The institute also attributed the falling of branches to the tourists who use to write their names on the bark and branches. Lastly, termite attack and stem bore attack (pest eating away the bark from inside), white grub attack (larva-stage of an insect which kills the root) and fungal formation (white colour) not only on the roots but on top branches crumbled the tree.
Measures taken
Officials dug one foot deep trenches near the lateral roots of the tree and chlorpyrifos chemical treatment was given to the roots to stop termite attack and white grub near the roots. They are also going to treat the trees for fungal infection by using bourdouxe mixture and paste.