Trees along Brickdam were yesterday mutilated by persons with cutlasses in an apparent exercise to prune them but the city is denying any responsibility for this.
When Stabroek News visited the Brickdam area, there were trees on both sides of the scenic street that appeared to have been hacked without any care or knowledge of how tree trimming is done.
While there was speculation that the Mayor and City Council was responsible, Town Clerk, Royston King, denied yesterday that the city was involved. He said that the council is not responsible for the cutting and is advising whosoever is responsible for it to cease their operations and seek professional assistance.
“There is absolutely no excuse for the damage that is being done to Georgetown’s trees under the pretence of trimming them,” concerned citizen, Melinda Janki told Stabroek News yesterday. She said that all over the city the lower branches of the trees are being hacked off, which leaves the trees unbalanced and prone to toppling over. “We just lost a beautiful yellow flamboyant on South Road,” she added, stating that when the trees are hacked they are left with jagged stumps which are a breeding ground for bacteria that can potentially kill the tree.
While most of the trees are overrun with bird vine, she said that there is no currently no programme to deal with the infestation that is choking and killing the trees.
“This is our capital city. We, the Guyanese people, have to rediscover our civic pride and our love for our city. We have to call the City Council to account for their failure to maintain and protect our trees,” she said, arguing that if the City Council is really serious about dealing with the problem then they should call for an immediate halt to the tree pruning and no one should be allowed to cut any of the city’s trees without clearance. She also suggested that a team should be trained in tree care and management and should also be equipped with the right tools for the job.
A cutlass was stuck on one of the branches when Stabroek News visited Brickdam yesterday.
While the country is preparing for the Golden Jubilee of Independence, Janki said that from what is being done to the trees, there is a serious risk that by May 26, the streets will be decorated with “ugly, dead perpendicular sticks where we once had beautiful trees.
They lived, breathed, cleaned the air, and provided homes and food for the bird, bats and insects which are a vital part of the city’s living environment,” she stated.
Stabroek News gardening columnist, Peggy Chin also expressed her sadness when she saw the improperly cut trees. “As I was coming to work this morning [yesterday] I noticed on Brickdam for several corners a number of trees” improperly trimmed.
“The trees were planted in the city for a purpose and some of them are over a century old. We already don’t plant new trees so we have to take care of the old ones,” she said, stating that if the council doesn’t intervene, there will be “skeletons” decorating the city streets for the independence celebration.
Residents and passers-by also expressed their disdain at the way the trees were cut. “I understand what they are trying to do but it looks ugly and it looks unprofessional. These trees help us live every day, you can’t just go hacking at them. You have to carefully cut them,” one of them said.
