As part of the “Breaking Sidewalks” plan and pruning and maintenance work by the Environmental Office of the Mayor of Cochabamba, women from the National Emergency Employment Plan (PLANE) and city technicians found six dead trees Thursday on Avenida Heronas, in the grocery and book sales area of the main post.
The municipality’s environmental director, Elvis Gutiérrez, lamented the damage to public ornaments and trees in the sector, where cooking oil was found in the trunk of an old tree, soil smeared with the greasy liquid, and a large amount of trash in the affected specimens.
“It’s very unfortunate that there are people. I’m not against the traders, but in this area of the post office where they sell groceries and books, they have no affection for the trees.”As you could see, that’s quite an old tree covered with cooking fat. Here the trees, which happen to be where the food trucks are, are dead,” Gutiérrez pointed out.
The Environment Officer warned that if the trees in the post office’s food sector continue to die off, the Mayor’s Office will intervene to relocate the vendors.
“We’ll talk to the mayor. If they keep killing trees with their business because a business doesn’t come before a tree, we’ll find a way to relocate the traders,” Gutiérrez explained after pointing out that it’s the third time they’ve had seedlings in the sector replaced.
Gutiérrez pointed out that the pruning and maintenance of the trees in the municipality are done twice a year: in winter and around this time. Therefore, the work carried out by a team of 45 women from PLANE will continue for the following weeks.
REFORESTATION
Unlike the Post Office, the Environment Officer congratulated the traders in the Terminal and La Cancha sectors, whom he assured understood that “having a tree is much more important than having a Llantucha”.
Given the great openness and importance of reforestation in the city, Gutiérrez indicated that they will be moving to La Cancha in two weeks to implement a planting plan aimed at “replacing llantuchas with trees.”
As part of the afforestation program implemented in the city, 1,600 trees have already been planted on Heronas, 16 de Julio, Sucre, and 25 de Mayo avenues, among others.
