The Forest Department and the Mangaluru City Corporation will take up a joint survey in the city on Tuesday to identify suitable sites, places where 3,000 saplings can be planted. If required, the survey will continue on Wednesday.

Stating this at an interaction with environmental activists here on Sunday, P. Sridhar, Range Forest Officer, Mangaluru, said that the sites would be identified jointly before taking up plantation with a view to avoiding a need to cut down the grown-up trees later. The Forest Department was ready to arrange for 3,000 saplings for planting during the rainy season. Hence, there was no point in planting saplings for namesake. Saplings planted should last long and they should not be planted in such places where development works and road widening would be taken up later.

If road medians in the city were at least one metre wide, saplings could be planted on the medians. They could also be planted on footpaths if they were wide enough.

Mr. Sridhar said that in addition, the department would plant 12,828 saplings on highway/major district road sides during the rainy season. The saplings would be planted on the highway side between Talpady and Nanthoor and between Surathkal and Mukka. They would be planted along the Mudipu-Melkar major district road also.

The Range Forest Officer said that if all overhead electricity supply lines in the city were removed and laid underground, about 10,000 saplings could be planted in the city.

Mr. Sridhar said that the Forest Department was making efforts to save trees. A few days ago, it received applications to cut six trees in the Mission Compound area. Spot inspection revealed that there was no need to cut the trees. Hence, permission was given only to cut the branches of two trees.

Rashtriya Parisara Samrakshana Okkuta and Sahydari Sanchaya organised the interaction.

The organisers had invited both the Forest Department and Mangaluru City Corporation officials to the interactive meeting.