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Dehradun: Trees from FSI premises dangerously dangling over road, locals worried

Dehradun: Mayank Tayal, a hardware store owner on Subhash Road fears that the trees inside the Forest Survey of India’s (FSI) office near the road, which have shot out of the premises and almost touch balconies of the buildings across the main road, may end up causing severe damage to life and property if knocked down by a thunderstorm.




Several other local residents in the area share Tayal’s concern but allege that the FSI has till now turned a deaf ear to their complaints. The trees inside the complex are said to be six to seven decades old.

Talking to TOI, Tayal said that he had written several letters and emails to FSI authorities to cut or at least trim the three to four trees whose branches dangerously dangled over electric cables, but nothing happened.

“For the last three years, I have been writing to the FSI, mentioning the threat we face from the trees, which are bent so low that it seems they can fall on a passerby anytime. If any of these trees fall on our houses or shops, it can cause damage to our property and injure us.”

Retired colonel AD Jayal, another resident of the area, said, “The government or the forest department will not wake up to this issue until someone dies due to a tree falling on them during a storm. With the branches so close to the power cables, there is even the possibility of the entire place catching fire.”

Another shopkeeper, Ranjeet Singh said that branches of the trees would often break and fall on the road below, blocking it. He said he had joined the others in asking officials to trim the trees, but no action was taken.

An FSI official when contacted by TOI, said on the condition of anonymity that they were aware of the problem and had written to the forest department about it several times to seek their permission to cut the trees, but had not received a response yet.

“Letters have been sent to the divisional forest officer (DFO), seeking his permission to trim the trees, but he has not reverted yet,” he said. Jairaj, head of forest force (HoFF), when queried, said,“The matter is not in my knowledge. We will get it resolved immediately if it is a cause of worry to so many residents.”

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