MADURAI: Any denizen visiting the District Central Library (DCL) will find its premises devoid of something they are very familiar with: The seven trees that provided shade and shelter to many a reader for as long as they can remember. An investigation into what become of these 'sexagenarians' led TNIE to a journey down the rabbit hole.
It all started with a call the TNIE received from a regular visitor of the DCL, nestled in the heart of the city. "The DCL has been my favourite haunt for the past five years and, whenever I visit there, I parked my vehicle under those trees all these years. However, none was there when I visited the library after Christmas holidays," he said.
Sensing something amiss, the TNIE contacted the library. To queries on the whereabouts of the trees, Grade - 1 Librarian K Mala (in-charge of the library campus) said that 'a communication in this regard had been sent to the Director of Public Libraries.'
This missive, dated January 8, 2020, was accessed by the TNIE from the Directorate in Chennai. It read: "There were 10 trees on the District Central Library campus. On the order of District Library Officer (DLO) Yesodha, three daily-wage labourers were told to work on Christmas to assist the NSS students who were allegedly coming to clean the campus. These workers were even given a compensatory leave." The communication then reads that the following day (December 26), seven trees -- three Neem, two Fig and two Peepal trees -- were missing. What caught the attention of TNIE was the 14 day gap December 26 and January 8, the day the missive was sent.
Breakthrough
The investigation made a breakthrough with the account of a person, who has been visiting the DCL for the past three years: "When I was passing by the library on December 25, 2019, I saw several persons cutting the trees down with machines. At least, one lorry full of logs were transported from the heart of the city in broad day light, and nobody did anything."
Denial
According to DLO Yesodha, two trees (a Neem tree and one Fig tree) were axed. This after obtaining an 'oral permission' from Forest Department. To the question why the trees were cut down, she said, "Since there is no proper parking space for readers on the library campus, we planned to construct a two-wheeler parking lot and, since the trees were a hindrance to the plan, they were cut down." The Forest Department, however, denied anyone seeking such a permission. Moreover, the Forest Department cannot authorise cutting down of trees on government office campuses. DLO version took into account only two trees, what about the remaining five?
The coverup?
When TNIE, visited the DCL campus, the stumps of the cut trees were covered with soil. To questions, Collector T G Vinay said that a permission should be sought from the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) before cutting down any tree in the district. "An inquiry will be conducted," he promised.
CCTV
Whether four of the library's eight CCTV cameras captured anything that might shed light on what exactly took place on that day is question begging an answer.