Mangaluru: One of the oldest trees in Mangaluru which stands at the center of Car street, opposite the iconic Venkataramana Temple gets uprooted on Sunday January 24. This huge peeple tree is said to be more than 300 years old, and has a lot of historical significance.
This incident took place around 8am. “Luckily not many people were around the area and hence there are no injuries,” said Arun G Shet, jewellery shop owner at Carstreet. Property damage as of now is limited to a crane, a water tanker, and one car parked at the scene.
“This tree has seen a lot of historical events like the Mangaluru car festival, the arrival of Mahatma Gandhi and many other such events in Mangalore,” he added.
Temple committee member CL Shenoy said that the Ashwatta Katte is believed to have been in existence even before the temples were constructed in 1804. He said that there is no documentation which reveals the history of this tree other than what is passed on from generations.
“ As this is a religious issue, the committee will meet and together decide on how to proceed further in regards to the tree and the temple,” he added.
