Remember the Banyan (Nuga) Tree at the University of Moratuwa, sentinel of the ‘L’ Block, which was featured in these pages last Sunday? All at the campus looked on sadly as the very slow process of cutting it down went on.
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| Upright again: The Banyan tree as it stands today. |
Workers were engaged in clearing the remains of the giant tree, using electrically operated giant saws to chop off the massive branches one by one, when something amazing happened.
Work had been in progress from about May 17, when, most unexpectedly, about one-fourth of the huge trunk that was still rooted to the ground suddenly began to straighten itself!
Men operating the saws were still standing on parts of the branches and, if not for on-lookers who shouted warnings, would have been thrown against the walls of the ‘L’ Block, saws and all.
There is of course a logical explanation for this phenomenon. The firm heavy roots, still partly embedded in the ground, and the earth itself around it, would be much heavier than the part of the trunk that still remained and the force of the gravitational pull would naturally account for the trunk straightening up back to its original position.
Once again, our amateur photographers were busy hastily recording this in their camera-phones, wishing, no doubt, to preserve the miracle for posterity. Should we allow this section of the tree to remain as it is now and let it grow again?
Or, should we continue with the process of eliminating it altogether? This is the burning issue of the day. |
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