New Delhi, May 9 (PTI) Traffic was restored on Rafi Marg after an uprooted tree near the RBI building was cleared by the New Delhi Municipal Council’s (NDMC) Quick Response Team on Friday afternoon, officials said.

The tree, which fell early in the day, had briefly disrupted vehicular movement near Patel Chowk and the RBI premises. The team responded promptly to clear the obstruction, an NDMC official said.

“Our Quick Response Team reached the spot shortly after receiving information and cleared the road. The reason behind the tree fall is still unknown,” the official told PTI.

Last week, strong winds and rain uprooted more than 100 trees across Delhi, triggering concerns among environmentalists over the impact of unchecked urbanisation and concretisation of tree bases.

“The cement around tree bases blocks water and air from reaching the roots, weakening them,” environmentalist Verhaen Khanna said.

“During the monsoon, tree trunks need to expand due to moisture, but concretisation chokes them. If roots are also cut during nearby digging, the risk of collapse increases,” he said.

Khanna also urged authorities to consider reviving fallen trees instead of removing them outright.

“The resources exist, but the will is lacking. When civic bodies act, success rates for reviving trees are high,” he added. PTI MHS SSJ MHS OZ OZ

Urbanisation and concretisation of tree bases weaken urban trees, prompting municipal clearance and calls for restorative tree management. NDMC's Quick Response Team cleared an uprooted tree on Rafi Marg near the RBI building to restore traffic, while environmentalists linked recent uprootings to unchecked urbanisation and the concretisation of tree bases that block water and air to roots, urging authorities to pursue revival and improved urban tree management instead of outright removal.