Felling of 234 trees on centuryold college campus distresses many in Kashmir
The felling of 234 trees on the 111yearold campus of Amar Singh College in Srinagar, which secured the Award of Merit in the 2020 UNESCO AsiaPacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation for its restoration after the 2014 floods, has created a furore among locals.
Around 182 poplar trees were planted many decades ago to create an avenue in front of the main façade of the building; they had grown to a height of 2030 feet. The trees lent a distinctive character to the heritage stoneandbrick structure in an IndoBritish style of architecture.
“First, they constructed a high masonry wall when the [original] plain chain link fence looked good. Now this disaster. Wish someone would get fired for this, ” Hakim Sameer Hamdani, design director of IN
TACH Kashmir, said.
Scores of alumni took to social media to criticise the college’s move. “The socalled ‘development administration’ has coldheartedly butchered the aesthetics of Amar Singh College, my beloved alma mater, by mercilessly axing the picturesque poplar tree tunnel. The shameless destruction of our beautiful landscapes is unforgivable,” Junaid Dar, a former student who works as a journalist, wrote on X.
“It’s disheartening to witness the destruction of such natural beauty in the name of development. Preserving the environment and maintaining the aesthetic appeal of places like Amar Singh College should be a priority,” netizen Sahil Parray posted on social media platform X.
However, Sheikh Ajaz Bashir, Principal of Amar Singh College, defended the move. “These trees had grown old and posed a threat. These trees were dangerous, especially during windy weather.”