Citizen Connect: Underground cables can end tree trimming woes

CHENNAI: It is an awful ‘tree trimming’ issue every year during the northeast monsoon at Balaji Nagar in Anakaputhur on the outskirts of Chennai city.

As usual, branches of the trees, planted inside the households, will be removed lest it touches the live wire. And for this, the electricity will be snapped for several hours till the entire exercise is over.

The officials with municipal administration in both Pammal and Anakapurhur areas have always had a tough time during this exercise as the particular area is in the border of these two areas.

Adding to their woes, every time they have to trim or chop branches of a tree, they have to adopt several procedures laid out as per the TNEB rules.

A senior official from the Anakaputhur TNEB said the issue can be solved only by replacing overhead cables with underground cables as is done in the cities.

“Now, as per the rules, requests have to be made to EB office in advance to switch off the power supply if the residents want to chop the branches that are growing towards the live wire,” he said.

However, another official from Anakaputhur pointed out that the trees, grown inside the compound of a house, cannot be fully pulled down since they help the environment and increase the groundwater level.

S Amudhavali, a domestic worker with a flat in Balaji Nagar 12th Street said, “I have already complained. It’s the duty of the electricity officials to monitor and cut the branches of the tree which touches the live wire.”

She said the municipality officials should also immediately remove the branches of the trees that fell on the roads. “It is getting cleared only after a while,” she said adding “during the night time it poses danger to the motorists”.

Branches of a tree left on 30 feet road in Balaji Nagar

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