The felling of trees at the Super Market area in Dimapur began on Monday after the No Objection Certificate (NOC) was issued by the Nagaland Forest Department and the Development Authority of Nagaland (DAN).

The work will be carried out by the two departments along with the Dimapur district administration.

The administration had intimated environmentalist of the plans, who with certain individuals have been assigned the task of planting trees to replace each one that will be cut down.

Over 400 trees will be felled in the operation which is expected to take a week or more to be completely cleared.

The tree felling operation follows the tragic incident of 12 October where a gust of wind uprooted some eucalyptus trees on vendors and customers at the Naga Shopping Arcade area in Dimapur, killing two and injuring six others.

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Trees are sensitive things, old trees need to be checked well and for anything that needs to be cleared, permission has to be taken from the Forest Department, stated Deputy Commission Dimapur Sachin Jaiswal, IAS.

An official from the Forest Department told Nagaland Tribune that the cause of the trees breaking or uprooting in the recent days was the constant burning of wastes near the trees. The practice had dried up and even killed parts of the trees causing them to break halfway and partly uprooting them, the official said.

The department stated that many trees are dying and rotting so it is advisable to cut down and plant more trees for safety precautions.

The vendors had relocated to the other side of the Super Market to the new market shed. Authorities had been asking the vendors to move into the shed months before the 12 October tragedy, but the vendors had not complied to the order.

The new shed can accommodate up to 200 vendors.