In one of India’s top five green cities, Nagpur, a 150-year-old tree has become the symbolic focus of a movement to save the city’s green cover. In a unique effort, a group of dedicated youngsters is trying to save the banyan tree that had almost died due to the rapid degradation of its surroundings over the past one year.

Thanks to the effort, the tree appears to be reviving and is beginning to sprout leaves. It may not be long before it bears fruit, says Shrikant Deshpande, who first noticed the slow death of the tree in 2006.

Situated at the base of the embankment of Ambazari Lake, the tree had been a rendezvous spot for many. Deshpande remembers standing in its shade—he studied at the neighbouring Dharampeth College.

During the implementation of the Integrated Road Development Project (IRDP), the road became broader and the open spaces around the tree became a dumping ground for garbage. Since then, the tree, which has a girth of

37 ft, has been dying a slow death. We met the civic chief and had the garbage bin removed, says Deshpande, an interior decorator.

Other enthusiastic activists—Raju Harkare, Vineet Arora, Sanjay Deshpande, Swanand Soni and Seema Sahu—joined hands to save this tree. Polythene and garbage that was suffocating the root-holding soil was removed after some dilly-dallying by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). A termite treatment firm, Gupta Pest Control, came forward to treat the soil. We are now planning to do anti-fungal treatment too, Harkare says.

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