Citizens in quandary as departments pass the buck to each other

Hyderabad: Tree branches are cut to protect power lines by the Electricity Department and the Greater Hyderabad municipal Corporation (GHMC) chops off the branches to ensure good growth of the trees and also when trees outgrow.

Whilst the two departments go all out, especially before the onset of monsoon, the chopped off branches are not removed and left to rot on the roadside.

Citizens are left in a quandary as one department blames the other. M Muralidhar, a resident of Warasiguda, says, "When we complained to the civic body, officials asked us to inform the Electricity Department and vice versa. We are helpless."

A resident of Deepti Apartments, East Marredpally, Kalpana says, "Huge branches of trees right from the Post Office up to the end of the road in Jawahar Nagar is full of branches for more than a fortnight. We are fed up of complaining, as none of the departments are taking responsibility." North Zone Deputy Director M Satyanarayanamma said, "We have not received complaints. However, we will be conducting a meeting to find out the areas where branches are left."

Rustom, a resident of Prendergast Road, says, "In several areas, branches of trees are cut without any reason. These huge trees are a natural habitat for different birds." When asked, the GHMC officials say that they only trim the branches. According to officials, close to three tonnes of branches are cut in each zone on a daily basis.

Naturalists and landscape architects blame shoddy planning. Raghhuram K V, an architect says, "There have been many deaths too due to felling of trees during monsoon. Many stand precariously on the edge of pavements."

Citizens are a confused lot and do not know whom to complain. BF Rout, a retired Army Officer and a resident of Sainathpuram, says, "Tile work on pavements is going on and simultaneously, branches of trees are chopped off. The construction debris as well as the branches of trees is left on the road leaving no place for motorists."