Rajamahendravaram: A 90-year-old Peepal tree (sacred fig or Ficus religiosa), once a mute spectator to hordes of people fighting countless legal proceedings in the district court premises, has been successfully relocated to the SP office premises as part of a conservation effort. The tree, which hindered construction work, was saved from being felled through a difficult relocation process ensuring that it survives for years.
The transplantation work that began on January 6, finally ended with its relocation on Monday after religious rituals were held in the presence of the District Collector Prashanthi, District Judge Gandham Sunitha, and SP D. Narasimha Kishore. All the participants hailed the effort of the Rotary Club for spearheading the initiative and working towards environmental conservation.
As the process began, the tree was given specialised chemical treatment to strengthen and stabilise its roots. Once that was done, the massive Peepal tree was transported with the help of a 20-tire heavy vehicle and cranes and shifted to the new location. It could take 30-35 days to confirm if the tree gets revived completely.
A caretaker has been appointed for 60 days to monitor the tree’s health. Teegela Raja, Rotary Club Charter President, expressed pride in the club’s efforts, stating that the club's initiative could revive an old tree.
As the revival efforts continued, Rotary Club Icons President Immani Venkat, Secretary Suresh Udayagiri, and Rotarian Durga Prasad stayed put to oversee the work, emphasising the importance of preserving long-standing trees.
In Andhra Pradesh, tree transplantations have been successfully done earlier. As per a report on 'Tree Translocation in India', taken up by the Forest Research Institute Dehradun in 2021 and submitted to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in Andhra Pradesh, NHAI took up transplantation for the infrastructure project Construction of flyover at NH-16 & 65 junction at Benz circle, NH-16, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh through A.P. Greening and Beautification Corporation, Vijayawada in 2017. The state reported success in transplantation in a few projects upto a maximum period of five years.
"The cost of Rs. 13,000 per tree was incurred in translocation with a total of Rs. 35,36,000 spent on the translocation of 272 trees. Truck-mounted automated equipment was used for translocation (pit digging, uprooting tree keeping its root-stocks and earth ball intact, transplanting a new site and filling the pit with dug-up soil). As per the current status report, all survived trees are growing with abundant branches and foliage," the report stated.
Experts say not all trees can be transplanted. Peepal, ficus/ fig, semal/ silk cotton/ bombax, and sheesham/ Indian rosewood are tolerant to transplantation, but dak, palash, tesu, arjun, shahtoot/ mulberry, and jhilmil are not.
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