Forest Officials numbering the casuarina trees
CUDDALORE:
Thousands of casuarina trees raised as part of the bio-shield along the coast near the Cuddalore Port are facing the axe.
Forest Department officials are already numbering the trees and evaluating their worth as a prelude to felling them. The felling of the trees has become inevitable as Port authorities see them as a security threat. Forester K. Natarajan told The Hindu that after the tsunami, over 7.50 lakh casuarina trees were raised along the 25-km long coast from Pudupettai to Suba Uppalavadi. In the past six years, these trees had attained their full height. These trees were planted on the sand dunes close to the shore so as to provide a “natural shield” against cyclones, sea erosion and the tsunami.
The tree cover had in fact instilled confidence among the residents of the coastal area who believed that these would provide them a semblance of security from the natural disasters originating from the sea. But the Port authorities had taken the differing view that the trees were posing a security threat.
Standing tall
Mr Natarajan said that the Port officials had reported that since the trees were standing tall and blocking the view of the sea. Hence, officials could not mount a close vigil on the movement of either any suspicious vessels or persons. Therefore, they wanted the trees to be cut down to get an unobstructed view. The security aspect outweighed the natural disaster angle, and the move to cut down the tress was initiated. For instance, the casuarinas thickets would have to be removed for a length of 500 metres on the Singarathope side and another 1,000 metres length on the Sothikuppam side.
The officials-Mr Natarajan and Forester K. Devadas and Forest Guards R. Banumurthy and K. Balasundaram-are painstakingly measuring the girth and height of each tree and were preparing the estimate of their value. In the past one month they have thus numbered 11,800 trees and it would take another couple of months before completing the assignment. Based on the evaluation, tenders would be floated and contractors would be engaged to uproot the trees, Mr Natarajan added. Residents are averse to cutting down the trees because it would leave weak spots in the bio-shield and deny them the indirect benefits derived from either the naturally fallen trees or illegally felled ones. Meanwhile, the Consumer Federation Tamil Nadu has voiced its strong protest against the proposal and vowed to mobilise the local people to prevent the move.
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