Sonepur: This town which is also the headquarters of Subarnapur district is known for its extreme heat conditions. Temperatures rise to such an extent in summer that life becomes unbearable. Against this backdrop, the decision of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to cut 258 trees for the construction of a bridge has attracted flak.
Strangely, the Forest Department has approved the proposal. Residents of this town feel that cutting the trees will further compound the heat problem. They want the trees to be re-planted or re-located somewhere else. Environmentalists and other residents of this town stated that modern techniques are available to plant the trees at another place after uprooting them from a different spot. Cutting off the trees would only aggravate the heat problem, they added. This development comes five years after 1,165 trees were felled for construction of a four-lane road from New Town Hall to Mahanadi bridge in this town. Locals pointed out that the original bridge over the Tel river was constructed 51 years back on NH-57. It was instrumental in developing communications between Subarnapur and Boudh districts as well as other parts of eastern and western Odisha.
However, with time the bridge developed wear and tear. The demand for a new bridge over the Tel river grew and the NHAI accepted it. The NHAI is now planning to expand the road starting from the Tel river bridge till Kunja Square in this town and also to replace the old bridge with a new one. The tender process for the construction work has been completed and now NHAI is all set to cut the 258 identified trees. Among the trees that will be chopped off are big ones like banyan, peepal, Sickle Senna (Chakunda), babool, neem, pongame oil tree (Karanja) and golden shower (Sunari). Trees that grow big, provide green cover and cool the atmosphere substantially.
Locals said that cutting down of so many trees will again lead to an unbearable summer next year. Environmental outfit, ‘Green Subarnapur’ has opposed the move and submitted a memorandum to District Collector Anya Das and divisional forest officer (DFO) Manohar Lal Sharma on the issue. They have also pointed that when the NHAI had destroyed more than 1,000 trees while constructing the four-lane road, it had promised to plant a large number of saplings. However, nothing has been done. It is one of the main reasons behind the spiraling heatwave in the district and this town, residents pointed out. Locals also stated that trees more than 100 years old should either be preserved or re-located, not completely destroyed. As cutting off such trees would affect the climate balance.