Mysuru, April 18 -- Rs. 5 crore to widen 0.36 km road

Amid public outrage and a planned candlelight protest this evening over the felling of 40 fully grown, shade-giving trees - each over 50 years old - on Hyder Ali Road near the SP Office, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) has come under intense criticism from environmental activists.

In response, the civic body has clarified that the tree removal was part of a road widening project mandated under the city's Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP). To offset the loss, the MCC has announced it will plant 400 trees, ten times the number that were cut down. But they will not be planted on this road alone [see box].

The 40 trees were axed in Mohammad Sait Block (Hyder Ali Road), between Nexu...