Bengaluru residents Rama Muneeshwar and Siddarth Nag were extremely concerned when they spotted 115 trees marked by civic bodies for cutting. The trees were all in the stretch between Whitefield and Baiyyappanahalli, where the Namma Metro is coming up.

It was then they decided to reach out to conservationists Vijay Nishant and Akshay Heblikar, who along with a dedicated group of volunteers studied the trees in the area. Their study concluded that they could, in fact, save the trees by relocating all 115 through a tree transplantation process.

In a bid to ensure that the green cover in the area is not lost completely due to the metro project, concerned citizens grouped together and began to make their own marking on the trees and are now all set to begin the transplantation process. Tree transplantation involves uprooting a tree from one location and planting it elsewhere.

The citizen initiative to save the green cover in the 4km stretch between Vydehi Hospital and Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital was backed by The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), which came forward to help arrange the heavy machinery required for the transplantation.

Meanwhile, Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital in Whitefield also pitched in to house most of the transplanted trees. "The hospital has agreed to let us plant 115 trees in the premises and we will be beginning the process on Sunday," said Vijay Nishant, an urban conservationist involved in the project.

Encouraged by the help pouring in, citizens began marking the trees in the area. "We marked the trees that are suitable for transplantation in red on Thursday. We have to see if it is technically feasible for the trees to be transplanted. We will begin on Sunday and it should take us about a week," he said.

Earlier this year, a crowdfunding project saved three trees in Sarjapura about to be axed for a road widening project. "The trees transplanted in Sarjapura are now thriving," added Vijay.