Ramakrishna Mission Higher Secondary School was once known for its various initiatives aimed at the conservation of trees. It was a group of passed out students of batch 2009, while visiting the school, who noticed the disappearance of plants and that a new building had been constructed in that place. “Our school was once at the forefront in conserving trees and environment that led to the creation of Prithvi Eco Club. When we were studying, we had planted as many as 60 trees behind the school. We obtained those plants after doing much research. It is quite shocking that the head of an educational institution is involved in such a shocking act,” said Rajesh A, one of the passed out students.

Rajesh, along with seven other passed out students, is planning to submit a petition to District Collector, Forest Department and Chief Minister hoping to find a solution for the problem.

Though new plants were planted on Sunday for observing the Environment Day, teachers said that they were insignificant compared to 10-year-old rare plants like neelakurunji, munja, njettaval. “Students devoted their weekends and vacations to plant these trees and now their efforts have become futile. When every school is encouraging students to conserve environment, the opposite is happening here. Now, there is no space to plant a tree on the school premises,” said one of the teachers. Headmistress Geetha K said: “It’s true that many plants and trees were axed for the construction of a new building. We are in talks with the management to find an immediate solution to this issue.”

Management’s stand

‘’Three days ago, students studying in Class X were injured when coconuts fell in front of the school. Fortunately, they escaped with minor injuries and we had to face several questions from parents about the safety of this school. That is why we had to take immediate action,” said Ramakrishna Mission Higher Secondary School manager Swami Inischilananda. He added that the school building, that houses 1,500 students, is in a dilapidated condition and required a new block immediately. “Students’ safety is our priority. The current building of the school is old. That is why we are spending around Rs 2 crore for the construction of a new building with more facilities. For that some, trees were axed and I am sure there were no medicinal plants among them. We will ensure that after completing the construction, we will be planting more trees as our school stands for the conservation of nature,’’ he said.