Madikeri residents oppose felling of 12 trees for Raja Seat road project

Madikeri: Residents of Madikeri have opposed the proposed felling of 12 cluster fig trees along the road leading to Raja Seat for a ₹1.5-crore road development project, prompting forest officials to convene a meeting to discuss the issue.

The residents have submitted objections to Madikeri Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Abhishek and Deputy Commissioner Somashekar, urging authorities to explore sustainable engineering alternatives to preserve the decades-old trees. The Forest Department had already floated tenders for auctioning the timber from the trees.

The nearly one-kilometre stretch leading to Raja Seat is being upgraded with a cement concrete road and a drainage system. However, the proposed work requires the removal of the 12 trees.

Resident and social activist Sampath Kumar said he had brought the saplings from Mandya in the late 1980s, when IAS officer Bhaskar was serving as Kodagu Deputy Commissioner. The saplings, each around six feet tall at the time of planting, have since grown into mature trees that have provided shade for more than three decades.

Residents said the trees were among the last remaining on what was once a scenic stretch and warned that their removal would affect the area's ecological balance and natural beauty. They also highlighted the trees' role in reducing the urban heat island effect and urged authorities to protect the green cover while undertaking road development.