Hyderabad, July 24 -- In two separate protests on Sunday, residents of the city gathered at National Highway (NH) 163 to protest the cutting down of Chevella's 914 banyan trees. While this is hardly the first time locals have protested to "Save chevella banyans", there has been little to no response from the Telangana government which is continuing with its road expansion plans to the detriment of the trees.

Around 30 cyclists protested the potential harm which could befall the Chevella banyans on Sunday morning while the afternoon witnessed 30 others protesting for the same. The protestors argued that the trees were far too valuable to be chopped down.

"While there is no documentation, oral accounts of history discuss how the trees wer...