Netizens Shocked To See Yellow Flame Tree Chopped Down
Singapore is known as a garden city with beautiful trees everywhere. They provide shade from the scorching Singapore sun and are a home for the birds that chirp happily in the day.
Residents of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 have enjoyed the sight of a beautiful yellow flame tree that has both provided shade and brightened up the area for many years.
Then, on 20 Jun, some residents looked out of their windows and realised something was amiss. The tree that was always there had been chopped down.
Upon seeing the sorry sight in pictures, many netizens felt sad to see the giant tree go.
Yellow flame tree at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 gone
On Sunday morning (20 Jun), a resident posted in the Nature Society (Singapore) Facebook group that the yellow flame tree at Ang Mo Kio Ave 6 was “now gone”.
The tree, commonly seen in Singapore, used to stand proud beside the busy road just opposite the Al-Muttaqin Mosque.
Now, an empty patch can be clearly seen in the pictures, and the tree has been reduced to a stump.
The tree was reportedly taken down that same morning, and the resident managed to capture photographs of the process.
Many reminisce about their years of admiring tree’s beauty
Upon seeing the pictures on Facebook and Reddit, many netizens mourned the loss of the majestic tree.
This Redditor felt sad to see the tree lying on the ground all chopped up in the name of progress.
A Facebook user shared they had good childhood memories of the tree.
Fellow Redditor thought that Singapore would move trees instead of chopping them down.
But moving trees is not always possible, said another Redditor. A tall tree would have deep roots, making it impossible to move, the post said.
Meanwhile, some deduced that the tree may have been removed to make way for the North-South Corridor (NSC) or road widening works.
LTA says tree was located at NSC tunnel construction area
In response to MS News‘ queries, a Land Transport Authority (LTA) spokesperson said:
The yellow flame tree in question was located at the tunnel construction area. As the NSC is bounded by established developments on both sides, there was little space to adjust the alignment of the NSC to avoid affecting this tree.
LTA had also consulted an arborist on the possibility of transplanting the tree but he advised that the tree was unlikely to survive the transplantation.
In the NSC project, besides identifying trees that can be transplanted elsewhere, LTA also works with NParks to set up tree banks where trees are planted early so that they are more mature when the NSC is completed in 2027. For each tree that needs to be removed for NSC construction, LTA will in turn have two or more planted by the end of the project.
This approach of trying to minimise the impact of our projects on greenery, and to take mitigating measures where it cannot be avoided is applied for all of LTA’s transport infrastructure projects. It reflects our commitment to improving transport accessibility for Singaporeans in a sustainable manner.
Appreciate the trees around you
Trees are truly wonderful, and some even give out autumn vibes in tropical Singapore.
But, of course, progress marches forward too. Road development sometimes means that the trees need to be removed.
It is sad to lose beautiful trees, so let’s make it a point to appreciate the trees around us, and enjoy them while we can.
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Featured images adapted from Facebook.
