Road-widening project takes toll on trees on Verka-Mudhal stretch in Amritsar

Amritsar, February 18

Hundreds of trees on both sides of the Verka-Mudhal road have been cut for widening the road. Over the years, a majority of the fully grown trees on roads in the city as well as on the outskirts have been axed to pave way for wider roads.

Joginder Singh, a local resident, said, “When a road has to be widened, why the trees on the both sides are. At least trees on one side could be saved if the widening is done only on one side.” He suggested that the line of trees could also be used as the median, thus saving trees from being axed.

The government recently started the widening of the road from Verka town to Mudhal. The road finally connects Verka with the Amritsar-Gurdaspur National Highway. No doubt, a wider road would help commuters, but residents suggested that cutting trees should be the last priority as it takes decades for a tree to attain its full growth.

“On the one side, we are complaining about the rising air pollution and the government itself is asking people to grow more trees but on the other, trees on roadsides are being cut without giving a second thought. Now-a-days, it is possible to relocate large trees,” stated Ravi Mahajan, another resident.

Earlier hundreds of trees, including those on the Mall Road, were chopped off mercilessly to construct the BRTS corridor. Even as the city residents lost the green cover, the BRTS bus service too is lying defunct for the past seven months.

Similarly hundreds of trees on the Amritsar-Jhabal road were axed in the past two years as the road is being widened. Residents stated that the government agencies must design the road widening projects in such a way that the majority of the trees are saved from being axed.