Raja Syed Rather
Ganderbal, May 10: A huge Chinar tree with dry branches is posing a threat to pedestrians and public property in this central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
The tree is located on the roadside in the Kachan area of Ganderbal from where there commuters, especially the school-going children pass on a daily basis.
Recently, the children playing on the premises of a residential house had a narrow escape when a dry branch fell down. A vehicle that was passing by also suffered minor damage due to the falling of a branch.
The worried residents said that to cut down the dry branches, they have been moving from pillar to post for years.
Though the Deputy Commissioner forwarded the submitted application to the concerned officials, nothing has been done so far, said Mushtaq Ahmad, a local.
He said besides this Chinar, there are many other such trees at various places in the district and most of them are at the places which remain busy with public movement. “Two people have lost their lives due to these trees,” he said.
Another local Nazir Ahmed said, “The Chinar tree poses a serious threat to human lives. Students from nearby areas take this way to schools and locals also regularly pass through here. An untoward incident can take place any time.”
He said the concerned Naib Tehsildar visited the spot months ago. “Though we presented all the documents required to cut down the tree, unfortunately, no action was taken,” he said.
We again request the concerned officials to look into “this serious issue”, Nazir said.
