Day after KM report: EPG visits SP College to ascertain reasons for mass Chinar felling

Srinagar, Mar 23: Member of Environmental Policy Group (EPG) on Saturday paid a visit to SP College to ascertain the cause behind the chopping of decades old majestic Chinar trees and asked the college authorities for planting of new Chinar trees in the college premises.
They visited the college a day after The Kashmir Monitor reported that administration has allowed uprooting of 17 ‘dry’ Chinar trees at SP College Srinagar.
Environmental Policy Group, Convener, Faiz Bakshi said they carried out an in-depth inspection of the college where Chinars were chopped down and even went through all the official documents which suggested that the college legally started the process of uprooting.
“I told the college authorities that they must initiate plantation drive of Chinars simultaneously as they have enough space in the premises of college,” Bakshi said, adding that they must ensure that the Chinars have dry environmental conditions for the sustenance.
Bakhshi further said that the Chinar trees dry up if their roots are moist, so they need dry conditions to flourish.
Environmental Policy Group is a Kashmir based non-profit organization which works for the environmental issues.
As many as 17 Chinar trees have been partially or entirely chopped off at SP College here during the last 4 days.
The college authorities say all the chinars had “decayed” after 2014 floods and needed to be cut-off.
Professor Khurshid Khan, Principal, SP College said, “The branches of the trees started falling and it posed safety threat to the students and the people around,” he said, adding that to avoid any “unfortunate accident we approached the government for acquiring permission to uproot the Chinars”.