Mysuru: If everything goes as per the plan, the city will get a tree protection committee soon. One such committee was functional in the early 2000s, but it was not reconstituted later.Deputy conservator of forests (DCF territorial), Mysuru, K Paramesh confirmed that the department is planning to set up a tree protection committee. “One such committee was functional during the early 2000s. We will study its structure and make a decision,” he said.
Earlier, a delegation of Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) met Paramesh and raised the issue with him. “We are hopeful that the Tree Protection Committee will be formed within a week since DCF has the authority to form it. If such a committee is formed, it will be a model for the entire state, as the committee requires permission to chop off even a single tree,” said Bhamy V Shenoy, founder president of MGP.According to Maj Gen (retd) Sudheer Vombatkere, a member of MGP who was a member of the first tree committee in the city, one such committee was formed in the early 2000s and, after its tenure, it was not reconstituted. “I was kept out of the committee activities as I was raising objections to each tree cutting,” he said. “We also propose a tree festival twice a year in the city. The idea is to help people to know the trees around them, and their importance. The forest department officials responded positively,” said Vombatkere.BoxProtest continues against stadium worksMeanwhile, activists, labourers, farmers and Dalit leaders joined a protest against building a stadium on five acres belonging to the iconic Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC) in T Narasipura.Hundreds of labourers working in the factory launched a protest. Farmers functionary Kurubur Shanthakumar, BJP functionary and former minister N Mahesh, and others expressed their solidarity with the agitators. They urged the state govt to immediately reconsider the decision.Meanwhile, taluk administration handed over the land to the department of youth empowerment and sports to start the stadium construction.
