The Hindu Business Line : Campaign to save trees at Vizag jail site

"TWO hundred years of steady growth has been ended in less than two hours,'' lamented Thomas Hardy, the great British author, in one of his poems vividly describing the felling of a tree in rural England.

The same fate is likely to befall hundreds of century-old trees on the 30-acre old central prison site in the heart of Visakhapatnam. Already, several age-old trees have been axed in road-widening works.

The jail has been shifted to the outskirts of the city and the State Government has been making attempts for the past two years to commercialise the prime site by allowing the construction of commercial complexes, food courts and a multiplex including an IMAX cinema.

Praja Spandana, Vintage Visakha and several other organisations have been opposing the proposal of the Government to commercialise the site. Praja Spandana has filed a petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court opposing the moves of the Government and the court has issued stay orders.

"But, deliberately misinterpreting the court order, the district authorities have gone ahead with the road-widening works. We have filed a contempt petition against them and the case will come up for hearing again on Monday," said Mr C.S. Rao, president of Praja Spandana.

He asserted that Praja Spandana and other organisations would not rest till "the Government gives up all moves to commercialise the site. We want a written commitment from the Government representatives in the High Court that the proposal for a multiplex including the IMAX cinema has been given up and that it will be developed as a park."

He accused the authorities of violating all environmental laws. "It should be considered a deemed forest and the authorities have no right to axe the trees. It is not the property of the Government or of the IAS officials. It is community property and the Government cannot dispose it of, as it deems fit, ignoring the public opinion," he said.

Mr L. Jagannadham, former president of the Bar Association, said the legal fight would continue. "We will not give up till the Government concedes our demand to develop it as a park. It is really sad that the authorities are showing no concern whatsoever to the environmental implications of commercialising the site. There is hardly any lung space in the city," he said.

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