The response of the head of the Tehran City Council to the news about the drying of "two thirds" of the Chitgar trees

The response of the head of the Tehran City Council to the news about the drying of "two thirds" of the Chitgar trees

Following the publication of the news about the drying of "two thirds" of the trees in the Chitgar Forest Park in western Tehran and the growing criticism of the municipality, the head of the Tehran City Council, while confirming the news, denied the statistics of the drying trees.

On Sunday, October 19, Mehdi Chamran said that the figure "two thirds" is incorrect and explained that "a number of Chitgar trees fell ill due to lack of water and other conditions, and some also fell ill due to age conditions; therefore, it was necessary to remove these trees."

This is despite Nagi Shabanyan, the deputy director of forests of the Tehran Municipal Parks and Gardens Organization, saying that "about 41% of the trees [in Chitgar] have completely dried up and 28% are in a serious condition." At the same time, Muhammad Darwish, an environmental activist, said in response to the issue of the tree disease in Chitgar: "For us to constantly announce that these trees were destroyed by pests and that we were not to blame in this regard, in my opinion it is a kind of projection and it is not true."

He continues: "When you don't water a tree, that tree becomes weak, sick and vulnerable to pests. In fact, the pest can be a result of the weakness of the tree, not just the main cause of drying."

According to Naqi Shabanian, "Chitgarh's irrigation and afforestation programs were ineffective for certain reasons."