200-year-old Banyan tree felled by Vardah gets second life

K Babu, a resident from the locality, reminisced about the ancient tree, “When I was a boy, the tree, which was massive even back then, defined our lives. It was a landmark, where we would ask our friends to meet us. When it was brought down by cyclone Vardah, we were in shock.” 

The idea to replant the tree came when a boy from our area, donated his pocket money to save the tree, Babu added. When the residents noticed that the roots were intact, they approached the Greater Chennai Corporation. T M Murugan from the Parks Department said, 

“We pruned the branches, which took us almost a week. We used earth movers to dig a deep pit and applied fungicides to the roots, to ensure it doesn’t develop any diseases. The tree was huge and that’s where the corporate organisation came in. We also filled the area around the tree with soil.” 

The sheer size of the tree posed a major difficulty for the regular cranes to lift it and place it in the pit. Babu said they approached Larsen & Toubro, who immediately came on board. The operation to replant the tree started after 11 pm on Saturday. Rupam Kohli, Plant Manager, said they used a mobile crane with a capacity of 80 tonnes for the job. 

“We also used an excavator and a loader for the operation. Before lifting, a pit was dug and the soil was watered. The lifting operation was done in such a way that the stability of the tree was intact. A team of 10 persons oversaw the execution,” he said. The operation went on till 3 am, under floodlights, as the area was cordoned off for public safety.  

Ramkumar V, an expert in replantation, said they had to remove one big branch, since it was damaged. “We immediately transplanted the tree in a pit that was 4.5 feet in depth, placing it vertically and filling soil around it. We have put stakes around the tree, to give it support. We will know about the progress after about 20 days,” he concluded.