Banyan tree cut down amid legal battle

The felling of an 80-year-old banyan tree named "Allah Rakha" has sparked a heated dispute between the Kuliatul Banat College and the Madrasatul Banat.

The college and school, located on Lake Road in Lahore, are both established on Evacuee Waqf Property Board land, with the college being under the administration of the Punjab Education Department and the school managed by Anjuman Madrasatul Banat.

The school administration claims that the banyan tree, which provided shade to students and was home to hundreds of birds, was damaged in the 1947 riots and was taken care of by Maulana Abdul Haq Abbas, the founder of Anjuman Madrasatul Banat, when he migrated to Lahore in 1947. However, the tree was cut down last week, causing protests from the school students.

The principal of the Cambridge Madrasatul Banat, Abida Rasheed, expressed her disappointment in the cutting of the tree, stating that the college administration should have informed them if the tree was diseased or hollow, rather than just cutting it down without any consultation. The school administration has also protested that the college administration is occupying the old college building, which is now being used by the school.

The college administration claims that the trees, including the banyan tree, were cut down after a survey by the forest department declared them unfit and recommended cutting and auctioning.

The college administration has deposited the amount of Rs131,000 obtained from the auction into the government treasury, but the school administration has accused them of using the children's protests as a cover to stop the cutting of more termite-infested trees.

The cutting of the ancient banyan tree has become a cause of concern for the school administration and local community, with the legal battle between the college and the school over the ownership of the land intensifying over the issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2023.