Trees that were nearly 50-60 years old have reportedly been cut down inside the sprawling campus of the Theosophical Society in Adyar, said naturalists. Society authorities however denied it.
Naturalists said that about 75 trees had been felled over the past few days . A visit to the spot revealed that some of the old trees had been uprooted and the pits were covered with sand.
Several tree stumps were seen on the 200-foot-stretch from the bungalow towards the beach. Trees were cleared in a 20-foot-area from the beach side towards the bungalow.
The fallen trees were were chopped and the logs stacked in the Garden area. Theosophical Society sources said Tim Boyd, the new president of the Society, had recently moved into the renovated Olcott bungalow. The trees that were cleared line the path that leads from the bungalow to the beach.
On earlier occasions, sandalwood trees on the campus were targeted by thieves. This is the second instance of felling inside the Society premises, said insiders.
S. Harihara Raghavan, general manager of the Society, told The Hindu that they had not cut the trees . “We only trimmed some of the trees. There was some wild growth, which blocked the passage way, so we cleared a stretch,” he added.