Chennai: A group of students and staff members from IIT-Madras staged a protest against management’s decision to chop Prosopis Juliflora trees. The management’s decision is in compliance with Madras HC order which directed district collectors to uproot seemai karuvelam trees to stabilise ground water table. Condemning the order, the protesters who demonstrated at the Jalakanteshwara temple said that the deforestation (of seemai karuvelam) would threaten the campus fauna.
Pointing out to the fallen trees and unearthed shrubs, the protesters said, “Bulldozers started uprooting trees in IIT Madras in Madras Avenue, Jalakanteshwara temple and the black buck breeding ground.” Usage of bulldozers has uprooted trees and shrubs that are habitats for jackals, pangolins and mongoose. A student was seen sketching a monitor lizard and with the caption, ‘where will they go?’ referring to plight of small animals that need the undergrowth to survive.
“The trees contribute to the local condensation process and contribute to the cycle of nature. The canopy trees provide forest cover for migratory birds like the Indian pitta, Indian paradise flycatcher and the orange thrush. They also reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere,” said a protester. “They are vandalising nature by chopping away the trees,” said Professor Susie of Department of Chemical Engineering and an avid wildlife conservationist. D. Narasimhan, Professor of Botany at Madras Christian College said, “It is true that they obstruct the flow of water bodies. But there is no harm in growing Prosopis trees on land, especially in barren areas”.
