Delhi's tree saviour on wheels

Launched in 2010 by the NDMC, the Tree Ambulance attends to ailing trees and nurtures them back to health

Delhi has millions of trees. Many are several decades old. “Just like human beings, they need nurturing and looking after. When they are old, they need injections and pruning. When they fall over, they need to be treated with respect. Trees give us so much. So we need to care for them” says Jitender Kumar, the operator of Delhi’s only Tree Ambulance. In Delhi alone, every year, close to 200 trees are felled by storms or simply dry up. Many more are cut to make way for roads and bridges.

Launched in 2010 by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) on the initiative of then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, the Tree Ambulance, almost exactly like a regular ambulance with its medical paraphernalia, including a green cross, was rolled out to attend to ailing trees in the city and to preserve and nurture them. The Tree Ambulance has its own kit with instruments and medicines. From 5-litre water tanks to a chainsaw and from a water pump to a tree pruner, the Tree Ambulance has all the equipment required for maintenance of trees. 

“We cater to many trees and we always have to be sure the ambulance and its equipment are well maintained,” Kumar says. “Trees fall sick and their quality starts deteriorating. For such situations, we keep medicines to restore them.”

In Delhi, during the monsoon, thunderstorms, hailstorms and heavy rains are regular occurrences. Trees falling on traffic signals and on the roads can be dangerous. The Tree Ambulance staff is extra vigilant during this season. Its night staff deals with night-time complaints.

The administration removes the dead trees and auctions the wood. “We understand the importance of wood as a natural resource,” he says. “We sell the wood of dead trees at public auctions.” The revenue generated thus helps the NDMC for other requirements of the Tree Ambulance. “Many seek refuge under trees during the hot summer, hence trees and greenery must be treated with respect,” says Kumar.

Delhi’s effort is minuscule. In several countries, governments have dedicated horticultural staff to save trees, grow more of them and train the staff to make sure no tree is felled if it is unhealthy. Delhi grappled for years with the issue of concretisation of pavements, which harms trees because it restricts them from growing and weakens them. Some years ago, the Delhi government decided to ask major land-owning agencies in the capital such as the Delhi Development Authority, municipal corporations of Delhi and the public works department to start at least one tree ambulance in their jurisdiction. For a variety of reasons, that idea is yet to take off.  Kumar says although the NDMC has jurisdiction of just three per cent of Delhi, it has around 150,000 fully grown trees. With one ambulance, resources are tight.

In 2016, surgery on a 40-year-old Pongamia tree managed to save it from dying. The tree had become hollow with age. Experts treated the affected portions with pesticides and then the bark was supported with an iron rod. This was done to ensure the unfilled portion of the tree did not collapse. The treated portion was finally sealed with plaster of Paris and fixed with thermocol on the sides so that the tree remained flexible. Kumar was present throughout the surgery. He explains that just as rods are inserted to support broken bones of human beings, after some years trees require similar care. He says the life of trees extends by at least by 15 to 20 years through such surgeries. A peepal tree, which, according to his judgement, was around 90 years old, also had to be saved just last week: It, too, had hollowed out because of age.

Sounds ridiculous? Not to everyone. There are hundreds of conservationists, who say the government should reach out to people all over the country and make saving trees a people’s movement. Suhas Borkar, a member of Delhi’s Green Circle, saved a neem tree that was more than 60 years old by reporting it to the Tree Ambulance. People have a relationship with trees. No one will ever willingly cut a tree down, says Kumar. Every tree that can be saved, needs to be saved.