MALAPPURAM: More than a hundred birds were killed when a tree was felled for NH development at V K Padi in A R Nagar Panchayat on Thursday. The video of the incident went viral on social media on Friday. Dozens of birds were literally crushed to death under the branches of the tree when it touched the ground. Several people took to social media on the day to vent their anger toward the people responsible for the cruel incident.
Following the incident, the Forest Department also took action against the people responsible for the killing of birds. Forest Minister A K Saseendran said the tree was felled violating several norms.
"The forest department had not provided permission to cut the tree. Even if they have permission to do it, they are not supposed to cut it when birds live in it. Strict action will be taken against the people who felled the tree under the Wild Life Protection Act," Saseeendran said.
The forest department officials registered a case against the contractor for felling the tree without permission from the department. Also, the JCB used to push down the tree was seized and its driver was taken into custody. The A R Nagar Panchyat authorities said they were not informed about the felling by the contractor. "We were not informed about the felling of the tree in advance. When this incident came to our notice, we immediately informed the forest department. Also, we removed the dead birds from the area in several bags. They should not have done such a cruel act," said Liyakathali, V K Padi ward member.