AURANGABAD: A 20-year-old sandalwood tree was cut and stolen from the historic Himayat Bagh on Thursday morning.
The incident, which has sparked angry reactions from environmentalists and historians, has exposed poor vigil at the Mughal-era garden.
Swapnil Joshi, convener of advocacy group Himayat Bagh Conservation Action Committee, said tree cutting and other ecological damages to the garden are failing to get official attention.
“If such official apathy continues, flora and fauna at Himayat Bagh as well as its historical significance would become extinct. There is a need for proper vigil to prevent damages to the garden,” he said. The committee, which is a group of nature experts and historians among others, has already conveyed its grave concern over rampant damage to Himayat Bagh.
When contacted, Ashok Dhawan, vice-chancellor of Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University (VNMAU), said he was struggling to cope up with manpower issues.
“I have asked local authorities to increase the vigil,” he said. Dhawan, however, also tried to downplay the incident of tree-cutting by saying that he had other important things to pay attention to.
Meanwhile, the garden department of Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) carried out a panchanama of the tree-cutting incident. Sachin Ujagare, an agricultural assistant with the AMC, said the civic administration would send a notice to VNMAU which is supposed to protect the trees at Himayat Bagh. “The sandalwood tree was apparently cut on Wednesday night and thieves could have planned to take it away the next day,” he said.
