A tree at Park Circus Maidan that fell on the boundary wall of Lady Brabourne College a day after the deluge of September 23 was transplanted on the college campus on Sunday.

Organisers of the Park Circus Sarbojonin Durgotsab Uddipani Durga Puja approached the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and city police to save the 100-year-old Radhachura tree.

The impact was so heavy that a portion of the boundary got dislodged, said Arjun Dhawan, one of the organisers of the puja.

"The tree actually fell on a traffic guard outpost that adjoins the college boundary wall. We alerted the disaster management group of Kolkata Police. Thereafter, the KMC officials assisted in trimming the tree. We didn't want a sad end to the giant tree and got in touch with the principal of Lady Brabourne College, who allowed it to be transplanted," said Dhawan.

Mitri Mitti, an organisation which has expertise in the field of transplantation, was contacted to save the tree.

"Transplanting a tree is very similar to an organ transplant," said Sanjay Singh, founder of Mitri Mitti.

After the canopy was hacked, the bare trunk, which stood 15ft tall and weighed over 20 tonnes, was transplanted on the college campus.

A group of men first dug the soil around 2.5m deep with the help of a pay loader. The dead roots of the tree were trimmed before the transplant.

“After digging, the tree was transplanted on Sunday morning. We will now put vermicompost inside the soil. We have laced the trunk with antifungal medicine,” said Singh.

"We have asked the college staff to water the trunk. Later, we will pour seaweeds and other forms of nutrients," he added

An official of KMC said the civic body has stopped planting saplings of Radhachura and Krishnachura trees in the city for the last seven or eight years.

“These trees have soft wood that increases the possibility of them toppling or their branches falling if there is a problem with the tree’s health...,” a KMC official said.

A shorter kind of Radhachura — dwarf Radhachura — is still being planted, said the official.

Only uprooted trees can be transplanted or replanted.

A tree also needs to be trimmed to reduce its weight, especially from its crown. "This is of greater importance in the case of transplantation when the tree has to be taken some distance away," Sarbani Roy, a botanist with the KMC.

"We wanted a solution which would be beneficial for all, and transplanting the tree was the solution," said Siuli Sarkar, principal, Lady Brabourne College.