Soon after the video was posted, angry local residents and nature lovers expressed their anger against the illegal act. Many demanded strict action against those responsible. In the video that was posted on Instagram, one can see the several holes made at the base of the tree. The tree appears to be completely healthy for now but green activists fear that it will die a slow death in coming weeks.

A BMC employee tries to flush out the poison with water

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Green activist Zoru Bathena said, “Terrible to see how this tree has been poisoned. Grateful to the BMC for taking immediate action to flush out the poison. Do hope they will also take strict action against such wrongdoers.” Activist Godfrey Pimenta said, “This is the latest modus operandi adopted by city dwellers. They drill holes at the base of a tree and pour acid into them to kill it in a systematic manner.” Former corporator Asif Zakaria said, “The locals told me about this. I had forwarded their complaint to Garden Department H West ward. They assured me that BMC will take appropriate action”

Also Read: Mumbai: Govandi, Deonar locals start getting air purifiers

Punishment entails

“The Bandra police registered an NC against the nearest open plot owner. We are searching for ownership details,” said a BMC Garden department official. Punishment for the crime includes a  fine of not less than Rs 1,000 which may extend up to Rs 5,000 for every offense. It also includes imprisonment for a term of not less than one week, which may extend up to one year. According to BMC’s complaint to the police, a chemical injection was used on the Peltophorum pterocarpum tree.

Speaking to mid-day, Deputy Superintendent of Gardens, Sunil Rathod said, “We had filed a complaint with the local police station. We are trying to save the tree by flushing the drilled holes with water. We also planted two more trees with that tree”.

Previous incidents

In the past there have been several incidents where trees have been poisoned this way. In February 2020, BMC had filed a police complaint after six trees were allegedly poisoned at a metal company’s premises  in Sakinaka. In April 2021, an FIR was registered against the owner of a coffee shop in Powai for allegedly poisoning a tree. In April 2022, a gynaecologist had alleged that a palm tree was poisoned to increase the visibility of a commercial boarding.

mid-day has also reported such incidents, such as on April 7, 2014, in, ‘Rain trees in Mumbai are being killed by injecting poison like this.’ A nature lover and an environment activist had found that some trees had been drilled into for injecting chemicals near the Kach Pada bus stop on Link Road, Malad west. An FIR was lodged about the same at Bangur Nagar police station.