Trees must fall?

Willow trees in which hundreds of Egret birds were nesting were cut down sending scores of hatchlings and incubating eggs crashing to the ground.

Tempers flared at the Pet dam on Saturday morning when members of the community and municipal workers became embroiled in an altercation over the felling of trees on the Western side of the dam and at the Sport-Inn.

Willow trees in which hundreds of Egret birds were nesting were cut down, spilling scores of hatchlings and incubating eggs to the ground.

Many hatchlings were killed in the process or later perished from heat and starvation while others were ridden over by cars after landing up in the street.

These actions infuriated passers-by who demanded an explanation for the cutting down of the trees.

They were told by the workers that branches of the trees were interfering with the overhead Eskom power lines and that they had received instructions to cut the trees down.

This explanation was not accepted by those who were protesting and it was suggested that only the interfering branches should be pruned.
No branches could however be seen to be touching the overhead power lines.

The altercation threatened to lead to serious confrontation and the municipal spokesperson, Mr Mandla Zwane was summoned to asses the situation.

By this time three Willow trees had already been felled. Mr Zwane then called the Director of Community Services, Mr Collin Sibeko to the scene who said that the instruction was that the trees were only to be pruned.

A tree in the grounds of the Sport-Inn was then pruned, leaving it without branches on one side.

The assurance that the remaining trees that were deemed to interfere with the power lines would only be pruned appeased the protesting community members who then left.

Concerned citizens then gathered a number of surviving chicks and took them to a rehabilitation centre near Dullstroom at own expense.

Meanwhile, parent birds could be seen perching on top of the felled trees, frantically calling for their hatchlings.

On Sunday morning residents were shocked to see that the workers had returned and a number of Willow trees and Pin Oaks underneath the route of the power lines had been cut down.

The Highvelder has received numerous phone calls from residents vehemently voicing their dissatisfaction with the turn of events and are demanding an explanation from the municipality.

An enquiry concerning the matter has been forwarded to the municipal spokesperson. The response will be published in next week’s edition.