Now, a report in this paper pointed out that locals at Lokhandwala are concerned about unnecessary concretisation near a lake on the Lokhandwala Backroad. They claim trees located near this concretised area, have perished. They blamed installation of paver blocks and concrete stairs in the vicinity, for the loss of trees.

Experts do point to increasing concretisation causing loss of trees. This is not just during Cyclone Tauktae but through the years. Just like increasing buildings have eaten up the space everywhere and left little chance for rainwater to escape, so has increasing concretisation contributed to the fragility of tree bases and the result is trees falling everywhere, especially during the rains. This may not be the sole reason, but it certainly may be a factor in the large-scale falls we witness.

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In certain pockets, it is time workers took the locals into confidence, roped in environment experts and then went about concretising or installing some infrastructure that they wish to. It is always wise and in fact it should be made mandatory that a holistic look at how we can balance both, nature and new infra is part of any city work. In this way, there is an attempt at preserving the few trees the city has left and some needing upgradation, too.