A rain tree that took tens of years to grow into a massive green umbrella on Whitefield Rd was reduced to blocks of wood in minutes. With a slew of ‘development’ projects in the pipeline, Bengaluru will see more such ‘murders’; unless Bengaluru rises to save BengaluruA 20-member squad armed with hardened ropes, electric saws and various sharp-edged weapons descended upon Whitefield Road, near the ITPB campus, in the wee hours of Saturday. The instructions given to them were simple: cut three trees (all fully grown raintrees) into smaller logs in 30 minutes, toss the pieces into the back of a mini-truck, take them to the contractor (who bought the tree at a recent government auction), and don’t talk too much.While the residents of the area – and regular commuters – are bound to miss the massive green umbrella, this is probably only a taste of things to come, what with a slew of ‘development’ projects dooming hundreds of city’s fully grown trees.“We have been asked to finish the job as quickly as possible — like in 30 minutes. We work for our contractor, Narayan Swamy, and we have been instructed not to talk much,” said one of the labourers at the spot, who claimed his name was Ahmed.Ahmed and his friends started off by parking a vehicle and blocking traffic on one side of the road and diverting vehicles on to the single lane. However, in the absence of any officials from any of the government departments involved in the tree-cutting present at the site, the tree choppers literally had a free run. There was no traffic police to help given that it was around 1 am, so a small traffic jam was in order.A group of men threw a lasso on the top of the tree near the crown while their friends plunged the saw into the main trunk. Then they heaved on the rope, bringing a sizeable portion of the tree crashing down on the street, inviting angry shouts from some of the motorists down below. The branches on the way down also damaged one of the street light poles on the street.Ratnakar, an employee of a popular internet service provider, were among the few onlookers who had come rushing after hearing about the tree-chopping as his crew had used the tree stumps for drawing their internet cables for subscribers in the area.“Most of our cables here are underground but we have a couple of aerial lines also. But now we have to look for other alternatives,” said Ratnakar.When contacted, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd officials confirmed that the trees were being eliminated as part of the work of the upcoming rail stretch between Byappanahalli and Whitefield. They have already identified 265 trees to be axed and have got permission for 110 trees. The chopping, according to Metro officials, was being carried out by the forest department. So far, 65 trees have come under the axe and 35 are on the hit list.“The forest department is in charge of the tree cutting as it has auctioned the trees after calling for tenders. We have got all necessary permission and it implies that public consultation and other mandatory norms have been fulfilled. There will be an ITPB station along this route,” said UA Vasanth Rao, Chief Public Relations Officer, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd, when contacted.Members of Whitefield Rising, a voluntary group of residents, expressed their shock and surprise when they were informed about the midnight tree-cutting. They said they were not aware of any public consultation as far the tree-chopping was concerned.