Novel idea of three friends to paste reflective tapes on trees to prevent mishaps in Gurugram

After receiving no response from the local authorities, Dhirendra Singh, former president of the Residents’ Welfare Association of Mapsko Mountville Housing Society, and two of his friends have tied reflective strips/tapes around the main branches of a few trees that stand as obstacles in the middle of roads in Gurugram.

The Forest Department has not given approval to cut some trees, for the reasons best known to it, which came in the way during the construction of roads in the Gurugram district.

The details of the exact number of unsafe trees standing in the middle of the roads was not immediately available as many departments and local bodies had separately constructed roads in the district.

Dhirendra says these trees are not visible at night during foggy weather conditions and heavy rains. These trees could lead to accidents.

“With the reflective tape, the drivers will be able to see the trees from a distance. Thus, they can avoid becoming victims of road accidents,” he said while adding that he had decided to fix the reflective tapes around the main branches of trees to avert accidents.

Dhirendra, who runs a coal trading company, while talking to The Tribune, said, “I initiated this drive because of a near-miss incident, I experienced late at night while returning from the airport. Due to the absence of streetlights, the driver of the cab couldn’t spot the trees in time and had to apply the brakes suddenly, narrowly avoiding an accident that could have endangered us both.”

He got inspired from this incident to fix the reflective tapes around the main branches of trees standing in the middle of the roads.

He and his friends Shubham Tiwari and Piyush Kumar Singh both residents of Godrej Housing Society Sector-101 approached the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) to get the problem of trees solved so that the accidents could be averted, but he claimed that they did not get any satisfactory reply from the GMDA officials. “We also approached the district administration and the traffic police. They gave no reply,” Dhirendra claimed.

Dhirendra was disappointed over the insensitive attitude of the local authorities so wherever he sees a tree in the middle of the road or any unsafe tree/pole, he and his friends fix the reflective tape for the convenience of the drivers. His drive to avert the accidents and save the lives of commuters is still going on.