Monkey Park gets a new member

The Sir M Visveswaraya Aalada Marada Udyanavana (also called Monkey Park) in Basaveshwaranagar was a site of celebration on Wednesday morning — a banyan tree had been planted here, in an attempt to replace the 400-year-old heritage tree that fell on May 14, after splitting down the centre.

The new tree planted here originally grew at the BHEL Circle near West of Chord Road, off Mysore Road. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s horticulture department, which undertook the translocation of the tree, said that the effort cost Rs30,000. The translocated tree is six years old, and had attained a height of 15 feet.

Neighbours gathered in the park to welcome the new tree, as if to greet a new member in the family. Many residents remembered the old tree with nostalgia: “I hope that I will be remembered after I am dead, by people who will recall some things I did while still alive. We speak of the old tree too in the neighbourhood as if we were missing a member of the family,” says T Yatish, a senior citizen and a resident of Basaveshwaranagar.

“A mass prayer was held in the park as hundreds of residents gathered to witness the event; pamphlets were issued in advance, making an announcement of the event and inviting people for the translocation ceremony,” said Vasanthi M Shastri, another resident.
The old tree too is likely to live on: environmentalists, with the help of state forest department officials, took measures last month to replant hundred smaller branches of the tree that fell near Madiwala Lake in an attempt to preserve its gene. Five branches and prop roots of the original tree have also been re-planted in Monkey Park. The BBMP is hopeful that those branches too will strike root again, and spring back to life.

Savithrama Venkatesh, a resident of the locality says, “I have been seeing the tree from the days before my marriage, when we lived in the neighbourhood. The park around it was still not developed then, and the tree was home to thousands of birds and several monkeys. It is creditable that the government attempts to restore the tree.”
Another resident who has lived in the area long, Prema Srinath, says, “Though it will take long, we are ready to wait. I have lived in the area for over a decade, and have grown used to having the tree so near. It is time to rejoice for us, it is actually a lot like having a new member in the family.”

Noted environmentalist and retired forest department official SG Neginhal sounded a note of caution, though: “For the translocated tree to hold ground, it is important that people not touch it.  BBMP too should take extra care for a while, to be sure that the new tree has struck roots here. On the one hand, thousands of trees are being felled in the city; translocation of one tree in that context is perhaps little cause for cheer. However, the effort is commendable.”
When the 400-year-old tree fell on May 14, splitting down the middle, locals found that the BBMP officials had unscientifically pruned prop roots to create walking space. The heritage tree had provided a canopy of about 50 metres.

Replacing the old tree
A new banyan tree was planted at the  Sir M Visvesvaraya Aalada Marada Udyanavana on Wednesday. It was an attempt to replace the 400-year-old heritage tree that fell on May 14, after splitting down the centre.

Suresh Kumar, Minister for Urban development and law, said, “Residents and environmentalists had suggested the translocation of a new tree and also the restoration of the old tree by re-planting branches and prop roots. This is what has been done. The tree that fell cannot be compared with other trees axed for development; none of those was centuries old. But to restore the lost green cover in Bangalore BBMP will plant 2 lakh saplings across the city in parks and near tank beds. Guidance has also been given to them to translocate trees.” He clarified that this was no instance of partiality among trees.