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Colombo council to chop down 214 of 550 trees posing risks
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More than 550 trees were identified as posing a danger to lives in Colombo city after five people were killed in October when a large tree on Duplication Road in Kollupitiya crashed onto a Sri Lanka Transport Board Deniyaya bound bus, but only 214 of them were to be removed by the Colombo Municipal Council.Sunil Gamage from the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens in charge of parks said that one main reason that trees had to be removed is that they had not been maintained. Large branches are cut and water seeps into the trees causing decay.
In Colombo city, another reason for the trees to be out of balance is the fact that usually branches on the roadside are trimmed, but not branches on the other side. During heavy rains there is a risk of the trees falling.
Chopping off branches and trees
Indika Pathirana, CMC environmental section engineer, told the Sunday Times that the council has staff to maintain trees including those in parks such as Vihara Maha Devi, Crow Island and other parks, where there are more than 100,000 large trees.
He said their duty is to reduce the risks, but this is a challenge during adverse weather.
He said that burying underground cables and pipelines have weakened some of the trees while the availability of water within three feet, too, was affecting the roots.
However, while the concern has been on removing risky trees there has been no plans on planting trees.
CMC Commissioner Badhrani Jayawardena said that the council does not have proper records of trees in the city.
Plans are underway to have a plant nursery at Jawatte to obtain seedlings for the city, she said.
Forest Conservator K.M.A. Bandara said that the protection of city forests should be part of the Urban Development Authority and CMC, and they do not have a proper survey of city forests.
He said they do not have plans to replace trees that are cut down.
Hemantha Jayasinghe, director general of the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) said most institutions do not have a plan to protect the trees they plant.
According to officials, though there has been focus on cutting down dangerous trees, there has been no focus on replacing those removed.
Pix and Text by Rekha Tharangani Fonseka
Inspection time for Colombo city trees
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