Trees Uprooting : Beware Bengaluru !
Bangalore waits for rain. After months of summer, rain feels like relief. But every year… the first storms bring something else. Falling trees. --- This is often seen as natural. Old trees. Weak roots. Bad weather. But that is not the full
Bangalore waits for rain. After months of summer, rain feels like relief. But every year… the first storms bring something else. Falling trees. --- This is often seen as natural. Old trees. Weak roots. Bad weather. But that is not the full story. --- A tree does not stand because it is strong. It stands because it is balanced. --- Imagine wind passing through a tree. In a balanced tree— branches are evenly distributed. Leaves are spread symmetrically. Wind does not hit one side. It flows through. The forces cancel out. The trunk feels pressure… but not torque. The roots hold. --- Now imagine an imbalanced tree. One side trimmed for roads, cables, buildings. The other side left extended. --- When wind hits— it no longer flows through. It pushes. One-sided. --- Now add rain. Leaves absorb water. Weight increases rapidly— but not evenly. The extended side becomes heavier. --- Now the physics changes. This is no longer just wind. This is a rotating force. A torque. The tree is no longer being pushed. It is being twisted. --- And the roots— which were never allowed to spread freely because of concrete, road cutting, and trenching— cannot counter that rotation. --- So the tree falls. --- Not because it was dead. But because it was unbalanced in a system that increased its load. --- These are not “old trees collapsing. ” These are living trees— with decades of life left. Lost early. --- And every such loss changes the city. Less shade. More exposed surfaces. More heat absorbed by roads and buildings. More dependence on air conditioning. Which releases more heat outside. --- A loop begins. --- So what is the solution? Not cutting more trees. Not reacting after they fall. But managing them… like infrastructure. --- Start with balance. Prune not for clearance— but for symmetry. Reduce excess canopy on one side. Allow wind to pass through the tree— instead of pushing against it. --- In many cities, this is called crown thinning. It reduces the “sail effect”— where trees behave like solid surfaces against wind. --- Next, support weak structures. Some large branches can be stabilized using flexible cabling systems. They don’t restrict growth— but prevent structural failure during storms. --- Then protect the roots. A tree’s strength is underground. But in cities, roots are cut for pipelines, roads, and construction. Soil becomes compact. Air and water don’t reach deep. --- Healthy cities solve this differently. They create breathing space for roots— using permeable surfaces. They avoid cutting major roots. They allow the tree to anchor itself fully. --- Now think long-term. Every mature tree will eventually age. But cities don’t wait for failure. They prepare replacement early. --- Saplings are planted next to mature trees— years in advance. So when one tree falls, another is already ready to take its place. --- Some cities go even further. They relocate young trees. With controlled excavation, root ball preservation, and replanting techniques— trees are moved, not destroyed. --- And the most advanced systems do something subtle. They train roots. By controlling soil nutrients and aeration, roots are encouraged to grow deeper— to search, to expand, to anchor better. --- This is not decoration. This is engineering. --- Because a tree in a city is not just a tree. It is shade. Temperature control. Air balance. Public comfort. --- Bangalore is still a green city. But not by default. Only by design. --- The question is simple. Do we treat trees as obstacles— or as assets that need management? --- Because a balanced tree in a storm will bend… and stand. An imbalanced tree— will rotate… and fall. --- **Issued in public interest by Certisured and Wizori. ** We will continue to surface such signals— so citizens can see what systems often overlook.