Shimla, Aug 28: Neeraj Chadha, Divisional Forest Officer, Kullu, said the Forest Department had initiated the transplantation of deodar trees along the Kullu-Manali National Highway. He said the company undertaking the construction had marked these trees to be axed due to the widening of the highway.
The DFO said such experiment was being done for the first time in the country with conifer saplings and the drive was being carried out with the help of NHAI. He added that if the experiment succeeds than a large number of trees can be saved. Neeraj said around 5,000 trees of different species were likely to be axed due to the four-laning project and before giving the orders of felling, the department had undertaken a challenging task to transplant Vth class saplings to adjoining strips of the national highway.
He said the Forest Department had initiated the process to identify such trees, especially deodar, that could be transplanted. He said while a transplanter was required for carrying out such activity, the department was conducting it with the assistance of the NHAI. He said while transplantation had worked effectively for other species, experiment of transplantation of conifer was being carried out for the first time.
Source Tribune India
