PANAJI
The banyan tree, relocated from St Inez to where it currently stands on the periphery of the football stadium built on the former 'Parade Grounds' at Campal is showing no signs of life after the initial promise in June this year.
Oral history accounts say the tree is nearly two centuries old and had to make way for one of the 'Smart City' smart roads section from the Madhuban Complex circle to the T-Junction on the western edge of the St Inez cemetery.
It was relocated with Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) engaging domain experts and some local botanists as well in April.
When the bare bark of the tree sported a few green shoots, the tree was unveiled by CCP Mayor Rohit Monserrate in June.
However, over the next six months, the green shoots have disappeared and parts of the tree are virtually dead as claimed by prominent botanist Daniel D'Souza.
According to D'Souza, who has often in the past worked as a green-scaping consultant for CCP and other government agencies, while some parts of the tree are totally dry and seem lifeless, there are enough signs that it still has life and will revive.
"When you scratch the outer bark, the sap is visible which means that the tree is not already dead," D'Souza said in a video he posted on a social media platform after he recently visited the site where the tree stands in Campal.
The massive banyan tree stood in the St Inez government quarters property of the PWD and was felled by the IPSCDL to make way for the 'smart road' in February-March prompting dozens of people residing in the locality to raise a hue and cry.
The activists had expressed fear that the tree may not survive the translocation but IPSCDL officials claimed it had got permission from the forest department for the translocation and had engaged experts to handle it under the supervision of an RFO.
