Is the city of Hyderabad which played host to a global conference on biodiversity insensitive to its own biodiversity in its backyard? If an online petition is to be believed, it seems so. A private employee, N Prasad has started an online petition seeking the help of the State government to save a 500-year-old tree which could be the rare Baobab tree, which is being damaged due to construction activity around it.
Also known as ‘Hathiyon ka Jhar’ or ‘Pullichinta Chettu’ in local lingo, these trees are known for its massive girth and hollow trunk. Considered heritage trees, there are just a handful of them surviving in the country. There are six more such trees in Chengicharla Forest Reserve in the city outskirts and reports suggest that there two others in the Vanasthalipuram deer park apart from some near Uppal and Attapur.
According to Prasad, he saw the tree during a drive towards the Ranganath Swamy temple at Nanakramguda and he later blogged about it. “I was so impressed by the girth of the tree which is around 22 feet in diameter that I wrote about it. I also sought confirmation from a forest officer as to whether or not it’s a Baobab tree and he confirmed it to be one,” he said.
Known as Adansonia digitata, the tree is expected to live for about 1000 years and is protected worldwide. A native of African continent, the species was said to have reached India by traders and slaves who travelled to India from the African Savannah. Baobab trees can have a girth of over 89 feet with younger trees having a girth of about 20 feet.
“Going by the girth of the tree, we can easily say that it is quite a young tree compared to its life span and there is an urgent need to protect it,” says Prasad. “Branches of the tree were cut during the construction of a compound wall of an IT company also a lot of construction material is being dumped right at the foot of the main trunk causing damage to the trunk,” he said adding that using the shade of the tree for parking vehicles too was causing damage to it.
Upendra Sri Sainath, an avid nature lover says that he has been looking for some time for the seeds of this tree and he has been finding it quite difficult.
“This is one of the many trees which signifies nature abundance in giving and it grows in almost any conditions. But the best part is, its leaves are also edible which means it’s the poor man’s food and it has a highly nutritious fruit,” he said adding that it was a shame that not many knew about it and asked for its protection.
However, forest officers claim that it can’t be a Baobab tree. “There are not many Baobab trees in the country and chances of any being in Hyderabad are far and few in between. However, if it is an old tree it should definitely be conserved,” said a forest officer.
Another forest officer believes that such heritage trees need to be conserved not just by government departments but also by the people living around these trees. “There is always too much confusion when it comes to conservation as to who is in charge of such trees. But yes, baobab or no baobab, old trees have to be protected,” said the officer pointing out that in countries across the world, it’s the activism of the local people which helps saves the trees.
Their version has been disputed by N Shiva Kumar who is an expert on Baobab trees and has been keeping a track of these trees across India. In a mail correspondence he said "It looks like a baobab tree as the leaves resemble the original and the tree trunk also has the qualities of Baobab. The pock marks on the tree trunk also indicate that it is a Baobab tree'.
For now, all that Prasad and the 150 signatories of the change.org petition seek is that of protecting the ancient tree.
“The tree is very much part of city history and one of the very few left. As IT Parks are built on land where more trees would have come or existing trees have been cut, it is our duty to save the few that are left and not damage them,” he says saying creating awareness about such trees was very important.
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