Trees felled for concrete parking at Gu­indy national park

Chennai: Visitors and green acti­vists visiting the Gu­indy national park and children’s park noticed something unusual on the green campus kn­own for its canopy cover and biodiversity.

The parking space inside the Guindy nat­ional park campus was cleared of bushes and avenue trees to pave the way for well-maintained concrete parking.

“Those who preach conservation should practise it. What is the necessity for concrete parking inside a national park? The concrete structure will prevent water percolation into the soil and will certainly affect insect biodiversity,” said Poochi Venkat of the Madras Naturalists Society.

Real estate is already killing ecology in the city and the soil, if left open, will not only inc­rease the ground water table but also support greenery along with insect and bird life, explains Venkat who specialises in micro photography focusing on insects.

“It was a shocking experience for me and I noticed several trees missing from the venue. My friends who visit the park also told me that several trees were axed to pave way for parking,” said Susee Varghese, who recently visited Guindy park.

A local forest official denied to DC that any trees were axed. We have cleared only some bushes to pave way for the concrete parking. There have been complaints from visitors about the slush during rainy days.

The work was taken up to improve public fac­ility, he said, and added that the department was monitoring the work and anything against conservation will not be permitted inside the Guindy nat­ional park area.

In the nearby Gandhi mandapam area, the pu­blic works department (PWD) has taken up lawn maintenance and face-lifting works where memorials of leaders are maintained. Eart­hmovers and concrete materials are used for routine maintenance work and will be completed by next month, according to sources at state PWD.