A Banyan tree said to 700 years old was put on a special intravenous drip to ward off a termite infestation, after Indian officials feared the insects could kill the ancient tourist attraction.

The Forestry Department in the southern state of Telangana began the “saline treatment” to the tree, in the Mahbubnagar district, said to be the second oldest Banyan in the world.

It is known as “Pillalamarri” (the children’s Banyan tree) in the local Telugu language, and drew crowds who marvelled at its sprawl over three acres, until last December, when it was cordoned off after experts warned it was crumbling.

Chukka Gangi Reddy, of the Forestry Department, said: “There were two major reasons for the crumbling. First, right from the trunk to branches to prop roots, it was heavily infested with termites. Secondly, the branches got bent downwards with tourists using them as swings.”

Scientists came up with the idea of injecting diluted insecticide into the tree like an IV drip in order to protect its weaker branches.