Ganderbal, May 12: With the alarming increase in Covid-19 cases in Kashmir, a serious and an aggravating factor Russian poplar is ostensibly on its way to the valley, which according to the local people can make the elimination of this pandemic almost indomitable.
Similarly, the presence of Russian poplar trees is a major concern for the residents of various villages pf Ganderbal which have been planted at different spots and some have been planted under the nose of district administration.
The residents of Manigam told, that some people have planted these poplar trees in their agricultural fields which is causing immense hardship to the local residents.
They said that they appealed the deputy commissioner Ganderbal many times in order to get these poplar trees axed but nothing has been done so far.
Similarly, the residents of Qamriya Chowk also complained about the increasing number of poplar trees being planted in the locality and has worried them about their presence in times of Covid-19 threat.
“Pollen from Russian poplar are as usual a problem, now in times of Covid- 19 spread, concern has increased tremendously among the people as the pollen from these trees has caused many allergic problems particularly among elderly persons,” the residents said.
They said, “Russian poplar must be cut down as soon as possible, Asthma, Allergic patients are prone to these poplars infection by which there symptoms are being enhanced and exposing them to greater risk of contracting the virus.”
The residents appealed to deputy commissioner Ganderbal to personally look into the matter and help resolve their problem.
