BDA workers chop off a tree uprooted by Phailin in a Bhubaneswar park. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 16: Phailin has extensively damaged the city’s tree cover.

Major parks managed by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority and the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation were badly hit by the storm as it uprooted trees and damaged boundary walls, jogging tracks and various rides.

While the city forest division, which coordinates plantation in the urban limits, has made a preliminary estimate of a loss of around 25,000 trees because of the cyclone on October 12, all the big parks managed by the BDA were battered by strong winds.

“We have received reports of major damage in Biju Patnaik Park and Indira Gandhi Park. Our maintenance division has already started repairs in these two parks. Eight other big parks will be included in the process from tomorrow, while the small parks will be taken up for restoration after October 21. At present, we have 59 parks in the city under our horticulture wing,” said BDA vice-chairman Vishal Kumar Dev.

He also added that the development authority, along with the civic administration and forest department, would take up a survey to know the exact loss of tree cover in the city so that the loss of trees could be compensated during plantation drive in the next season.

Loknath Dash, a resident of Lingaraj Vihar in Pokhariput, who regularly goes to the nearby Madhusudan Park for morning walk, said: “Jogging tracks have been cleared off the uprooted trees in the park. But, tree branches are still hanging overhead at some places.”

Biswajit Mohapatra of Ganga Nagar said: “The Biju Patnaik Park was badly damaged with its boundary wall towards the Airport Road broken at several points by huge uprooted trees. The authorities have started work from this morning, but many trees that were damaged by the cyclone, need trimming.”

Divisional forest officer of city forest division Jayanta Kumar Das said: “Several agencies involved in plantation around the city have started the salvage operation.”

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today monitored the post-cyclone repair and rehabilitation work in the city and asked the BDA vice-chairman to expedite the process and co-ordinate the activities of the various organisations under the city administration.

The BMC has also claimed that all its 25 parks were damaged by the cyclone.

“The compound wall of a new park opened on the Local Self Government Day on August 31 this year at Acharya Vihar was badly damaged. Several other parks were also damaged,” said BMC commissioner Sanjib Kumar Mishra.

The BMC environment officer has constituted a team to survey all the 25 parks under the civic body and prepare an extensive report on the loss of tree cover.