India, Dec. 15 -- A mid the crumbling plaster and peeling paint of Connaught Place, an uninvited tenant has quietly taken root - literally. In cracks, on parapet walls, along the labyrinth of colonnaded corridors, Ficus religiosa - the Peepal tree - has woven itself into the bones of the city's most iconic marketplace. Sacred yet fiercely opportunistic if left unchecked, it has become an adversary for traders and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), carving a silent, green siege into a heritage site. A walk through CP reveals the extent of the takeover. In A-block alone, a dozen or more trees pierce the stuccoed skyline, some clinging to the outer walls, others perched on first-floor ledges with roots dangling all the way down to the roa...