Save Banyans of Chevella campaign gains momentum

The ‘Save the Banyans of Chevella’ padayatra gained momentum with several hundred activists urging the government not to axe century-old trees for road widening.

This comes ahead of the 11 January hearing of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on the issue.

Under the NHAI project, the existing 7 m-wide two-lane stretch of NH-163 is to be made four-lane along 46 km.

Activists say the proposed translocation of trees is not feasible as the old trees have a very low survival rate.