Goa: Civic body uprights 100-year-old uprooted tree in Panaji

PANAJI: A 100-year-old Copper Pod tree that flourished for decades with all its flamboyance on the Gujarat Lodge street along Panaji’s iconic 18 June road was among the several casualties of cyclone Tauktae last month.
On Tuesday, the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) uprighted the fallen sentinel by re-planting the massive tree right where it belonged, thus reuniting it with its roots.
Members of the Goa Green Brigade noticed the uprooted tree had been lying on the footpath for close to three weeks and had by then developed shoots. “The tree was condemned to be cut into pieces and taken away. After we were informed that the tree was still living, and it can be saved, we called some experts – a team of botanists and horticulturists – to examine the tree and they confirmed that it was living. They advised that it can be replanted in the same spot,” CCP commissioner, Agnelo Fernnades told TOI.
He further said that other trees can be saved in Panaji if they are closely examined for signs of life. What followed was the Goa Green Brigade’s efforts to save the tree and CCP took up the task of pruning its branches, erecting it upright and re-planting its trunk into a pit filled with manure.
Environmental activist and coordinator in the Goa Green Brigade, Avertino Miranda said that this concept of re-planting can be replicated all over Goa.
“In Panaji, the CCP has the manpower, equipment, mud, manure and machines to undertake the task of saving trees. The commissioner has assured us that the uprooted trees will be saved,” he said.