Malappuram: A four-decade-old papal tree, which was given a second lease of life by nature lovers and Good Samaritans of Ponnani, could now find a place in a museum as a memorial of a novel struggle of nature lovers.
The locals had moved heaven and earth to save the peepal tree last May when it was about to be axed for a road widening project.
Axing of tree at Maranchery centre, or the old Thaneerpandal market, seemed inevitable for the renovation and widening of the Kundukadavu-Kottappadi road.
Saving the tree at any cost was the motto of the nature lovers and thus Mission Bodhi was envisaged.
Through crowd sourcing, Rs 86,000 needed for safe uproot, transport and transplant was raised.
The 20-tonne peepal tree was then replanted at an under construction heritage museum in Ponnani, 11 kiloemters from its original spot at Maranchery.
Experts from Kerala Forest Research Institute at Peechi in Thrissur, who arrived here on Tuesday, found that the tree, cannot be rejuvenated.
But Mission Bodhi volunteers did not want to just let the papal tree wilt away.
Soon after the peepal tree's transplantation, the worst floods in a century ravaged the state.
The tree was submerged in the floods. Though new shoots sprouted from the main trunk, it did not last long.
Kerala Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan, who is also Ponnai MLA, wrote a letter to the KFRI, seeking its intervention.
“The transplantation drive was successful and we were jubilant to witness new leaves budding each week. Unfortunately, since November, we are desperately monitoring the wilting of the tree,” he wrote to the KFRI.
A KFRI team headed by principal scientist Dr PV Sajeev reached Ponnani to inspect the tree.
The conclusion was that it cannot be brought back to life again.
“It was a cumulative effect of the transplant, the flood and the treatment in between. We understand that kerosene was applied to the pores of the trunk to treat the tree. However, it turned harmful for the tree and it can not be rejuvenated again. But we have offered all technical support to retain it as a memorial at the request of the volunteers,” said Dr Sajeev.
With the assistance and expertise of the KFRI, the wood of the tree would now be preserved at the museum campus as a memorial for the land's love of trees. Mission Bodhi volunteers also hope this would boost the love for nature and encourage planting of trees.
How the Papal tree was transplanted
It was on May 14, last year, the process of transplantation started, with the support of hundreds of people, mainly residents. The tree, with the phalanx of its main tap and prop root intact, was loaded onto a trailer truck brought from Kochi. It took nearly two hours to shift the 20-tonne tree to an under-construction heritage museum in Ponnani, 11km from Maranchery, after it faced threat of felling due to widening of highway.
The branches of the tree were trimmed and the trunk was treated to prevent water loss. For easy habitat adaption, soil from the area was also collected to be deposited at the tree's new turf. The whole process got over by the next day.
Mission Bodhi workers and residents took turns to tend to the tree till the roots ran deep, new branches sprouted, and the canopy widened.
Now, they will cherish memories of their epic struggle to protect the peepal tree every time they see its preserved wood at the museum.