Friday’s storm took down 98 trees

It was not only the Capital’s civic infrastructure that collapsed after just an hour of downpour on Friday. It also took a toll on the city’s precious green cover. Neelam Pandey reports.

It was not only the Capital’s civic infrastructure that collapsed after just an hour of downpour on Friday. It also took a toll on the city’s precious green cover.

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Rain and the accompanying squall resulted in 98 full-grown trees getting uprooted in the city. Civic agencies said 86 trees were uprooted in the area under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, while 12 trees fell in New Delhi Municipal Council area.

While civic agencies blamed the high wind speed for the loss of green cover, environmentalists said the flurry of construction activity — flyovers, metro and more — has resulted in the green catastrophe. The construction activity has weakened the binding of soil and roots of trees, they said.