Mumbai appoints tree surgeon to protect vulnerable trees from falling

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in a unique initiative has roped in a tree surgeon, also known as an arborist or arboriculturist to assess old trees and protect them from falling.

On a pilot project, arborist Vaibhav Raje has been appointed in BMC's D-ward, which includes areas like Malabar hill, Tardeo and Peddar Road etc in Mumbai. He will study around 100-150 trees of the D-ward and suggests ways to prevent them from falling.

An arborist analyzes a tree for any kind of fungal infections, decay or any other vulnerability and also suggests ways to protect them. Such a task will help reduce accidents

Speaking to ANI, Raje explained the work of an arborist and said, "A lot of times when floods occur, or there is a heavy downpour, or even due to other reasons, trees tend to fall, due to decaying trunks, fungal infection or loose roots. Such things cannot be seen from the outside. To reduce the risk of accidents and prevent them from falling, I have been appointed to identify them in advance and work on them."

Elaborating on the process, he said, "First physical attributes of the trees are recorded. Then we identify structural, physiological defects, presence of any decay or disease, condition of the soil and roots, along with the condition of the site where it is growing."

"It is a good approach in urban tree management. We get a base map on the trees under of high-risk and low-risk. It builds a road map to work on the trees. It is like preparing a medical history of trees," he added.

Raje expressed his happiness over people understanding the importance of an arborist.

"Nowadays, people are understanding the value of arboriculture. I am happy to work for Mumbai and other parts of the country too," he told ANI.

Meanwhile, Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar informed that after analysing the result, it will be decided if the projects needs to be expanded to other areas of Mumbai.

"We are trying to promote indigenous trees which hold the ground for many years. D-ward has started this pilot project to protect the trees. We will analyse the results of this pilot project and then we will take a call if we have to implement this project of arborist all over Mumbai to protect our trees," she said.

( With inputs from ANI )