Ancient trees on Autobahn chopped down

The tall ancient trees along the renowned Autobahn Road have been abruptly felled, depriving the city, already grappling with summer heat waves, of green cover. It remains unclear who ordered the chopping of these decades-old trees.

The unplanned tree cutting, coupled with the closure of a section of the road during school hours, resulted in a traffic jam on the two-lane Autobahn Road. Ambulances were also caught in the congestion, causing nuisance for commuters.

Anticipating the consequences of tree removal, those responsible left loopholes in the chain of command to confound investigators.

The tree cutters told The Express Tribune that the Forestry Department had ordered them to chop the trees. However, when contacted, the Hyderabad divisional forest officer stated that municipal officials were responsible for cutting the trees as part of road expansion and drain construction.

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The Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) municipal commissioner insisted that the HMC did not carry out the tree cutting; instead, it was the project director of the Sindh Local Government Department.

According to reports, modern machinery was used to fell dozens of tall trees in the green belt near Aabshar Chowk and the Forest Department office on Autobahn Road. This incident occurred on Monday, causing a blockage from Hussainabad Chowk to Latifabad Ponay Saat. Iron barriers and a motorcycle loader blocked the road at the green belt's starting point, while a tractor-trolley obstructed traffic at the second point, resulting in a complete suspension of road traffic.

When The Express Tribune team sought information from the supervisor of the tree cutters, he said on the condition of anonymity that the Forest Department issued the directive.

Subsequently, The Express Tribune contacted the Divisional Forest Officer, Social Forestry, Hyderabad, Zubair Ahmad Chanar, who contradicted the claim, stating that the municipality was responsible for cutting the trees as part of the Autobahn Road reconstruction. According to Chanar, the municipality is tasked with maintaining green belts, plantations, and trees within the city.

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He explained that Autobahn Road is undergoing reconstruction, and a committee under the chairmanship of the deputy commissioner has visited for road and nullah extension. As part of this project, the road's width is increasing, and a nullah is being constructed for water drainage, requiring an additional ten to eight feet of space on both sides. The municipality is cutting the trees in the background for this purpose.

However, when contacted, Municipal Commissioner Anis Dasti disowned any association with the tree cutting. After some time, he communicated that, under the Sindh Local Government Department, a construction project for Autobahn Road and an accompanying canal had commenced.

A regular project director has been appointed for this project, overseeing the construction of a pond at the mentioned location. According to Dasti, trees were cut as part of this project, and only the project director can provide details about the tree cutting in the green belt.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2023.