BENGALURU, 5 JUNE

On World Environment Day City historians and environmentalists wrote five letters to the High Court to protect the last Baobab tree present on the court’s premises.

The founder of the Heritage Beku, a heritage advocacy group, Priya Chetty Rajagopal has written a letter to the High Court, Horticulture Department, Cubbon Park, DCF Forests, and BBMP Commissioner, again to protect the Baobab tree. Speaking to Salar News, Rajagopal said, “The tree surrounding is crowded with asbestos sheets and a stationary shop has come so close to the tree that it might not survive.” However, they claimed that they did not receive any response. 

The Heritage Beku demands the High Court to immediately remove the barricades, clear up the area and get a specialist from the Horticulture Department to come in and have a look at the tree and take measures on how to protect it.

In 2023 the BBMP introduced concrete grates for trees. A year later, and there is no update from the BBMP regarding this project. 

Speaking to Salar News, the members of the Heritage Beku have pointed out that measures like constructing iron grates for trees are an imperative step to safeguard our green friends in the City.

Suresh Jayaram, a well-known artist, curator, historian and member of Heritage Beku told Salar News that he has been reaching out to the court for over 20 days for immediate attention to this matter.

Baobab trees have an estimated life span of three thousand years, and only fewer than 250 mature trees remain on Earth today. Mandu in Madhya Pradesh is currently the only place where these trees are found in abundance. But that’s not the case for Bengaluru. The last tree died in Lalbagh due to negligence from the authorities.

When Salar News tried getting in touch with the Horticulture Department, they were informed about its unavailability to comment on this. Salar News