The Hindu 04.11.2013
Sangha removes saplings planted near premises
Bowing to public pressure, Karnatak Vidyavardhak Sangha (KVS) authorities removed the saplings which were planted on the footpath adjacent to their premises here on Sunday.
KVS authorities removed the saplings and paved the way for the smooth movement of pedestrians. The sangha came under criticism after its executive committee member and activist Shankar Kumbi illegally dug up the footpath to plant saplings.
Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) zonal officer V. Shridhar confirmed that KVS authorities removed the saplings. He said HDMC had issued a notice asking the KVS to remove the saplings and reconstruct the footpath. HDMC engineers would conduct an inspection to see the footpath was reconstructed properly. Otherwise, HDMC would impose a penalty on KVS, he said.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank, which provided the tree guards to Mr. Kumbi, condemned the misuse of their help. Public relations officer Ullas Gunaga told The Hindu that the bank provided help to plant saplings in open public places, but damaging the footpath or any other civic amenity to plant saplings would not be tolerated. Mr. Kumbi had damaged the bank’s reputation, he said.
Mr. Gunaga said the bank took the incident seriously and had asked Mr. Kumbi to inform bank officials in advance about the locations selected for planting saplings.
