Road trips are no longer beautiful. Sure highways are broader and smoother now, but far less green. Today's roads unlike in the past, don’t have a green cover, don’t protect travellers from the merciless sun’s heat and don't provide cool air. For instance, till a couple of decades ago whenever I travelled to Pulicat I used to see huge tamarind trees and neem trees along the roads. Watching these huge trees as I whizzed past them was always a delight.
Earlier, during long trips if one took a break and parked one's car under a tree one could not only enjoy the cool breeze but also would be entertained by a good number of parakeets clamouring and squabbling for their favorite roosting spots and squirrels running around on the branches. You would also see spotted owls watching you with curiosity.
But all this beauty is now a thing of the past. Things change with the times.
Journeys can no longer be made in a leisurely fashion; they need to accommodate speed and the terrific increase in vehicular traffic. So four lanes were born and naturally trees lost their rightful space. It was a sad sight to watch these gentle giants being cut and their trunks dug out off the earth with earthmovers. But governments did plant new trees, and I was delighted as these saplings grew to spread and provide shade.
But my happiness was short lived. For reasons better known to the authorities they decided to expand the highway further and add a few more lanes. As usual the trees got the axe. And now the highway I used to love driving on is barren. The trees in the city’s avenues share a similar fate. I strongly believe that avenue trees are the most abused of all life forms. If anyone of you has any doubt I request you to observe the trees on the streets in your vicinity.
I am sure no tree will have grown in its normal way. You will find their stems chopped and notice billboards nailed on their barks. Though the law states that the area around the trees must not be fully cemented in several places you will see just the opposite. As a result no water seeps in.
Even the roots of these trees are not spared. Every time a cable is laid or water connection is made the roots are the casualty. When trees’ branches are chopped or roots are cut the tree loses its symmetry and balance and they get easily uprooted during rains. I cannot remember seeing a single tree without a deformity.
Electricity board staff chop branches periodically to avoid their contact with wires and transformers. But you cannot justify the act of shopkeepers cutting down branches and trees to ensure their name boards are visible. However, no authority questions them.
While we abuse trees they only do us good. Apart from giving us clean air to breath they reduce the negative impact of automobile pollutants like carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. They lower urban temperatures and reduce the heat generated by asphalt and concrete. Trees absorb 30 per cent precipitation through their leaf system. Run-off water during rains is also reduced by trees. In general, the aesthetics of the area increase when it has tree canopied streets and it has a positive impact on the land value as well. The urban wildlife is supported by avenue tress. So is it not the duty of every citizen to protect and nurture our avenue trees? Let us do it… now.
The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”