Large-scale felling of rare trees in Himayat Bagh

Anger from environmentalists, municipal corporation issues a notice

Aurangabad, Aug 17:

While the process of declaring the historic Himayat Bagh as the biggest biodiversity project in the state is underway at the State government level, a shocking case of large-scale felling of trees was revealed on Wednesday.

While the court case regarding Himayat Bagh is in process, environmentalists have expressed their anger as hundreds of rare trees are being axed. The municipal tree authority committee immediately issued a notice to the Himayatbagh administration. The Himayat Bagh was built during Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb's residence at Mardana Mahal in Kileark. This place has thousands of trees of different species that are 300 to 400 years old. The Bagh is located in the central part of the city and also houses hundreds of rare wild species. The number of citizens who come here for walks in the morning and evening is also in the thousands. However, the Bagh has fallen prey to tree felling and illegal excavation.

A public interest litigation has also been filed in this regard by Umbrella Welfare Foundation in the Aurangabad Bench. The court has ordered to declare Himayat Bagh as a biodiversity heritage site. Parbhani agricultural university has also submitted a proposal to the municipal corporation in this regard. But on Wednesday, it came to light that many trees were being axed.

Many trees have been felled from the bottom and some have had their branches cut off. When the environmentalists expressed their anger, Vijay Patil, chairman of the tree authority committee and park superintendent, immediately issued a notice to the Himayat Bagh administration.

First major project in the state

A fruit research centre under the Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University of Parbhani has been running for the past several decades in the historic Himayat Bagh. The move to declare the huge area of more than 300 acres as a biodiversity project has gained momentum. This will be the first biodiversity project in the state. Declaring Himayat Bagh as a heritage site will add to the glory of the city, and will also be of great benefit in terms of tourism, environmentalists said.