The tree is older than all of us!
A 136-year old Samansea saman tree, or known by the locals as Hujan-Hujan, at the Taiping Lake Garden was declared officially dead on Thursday (September 30th), due to weak structural and anchor roots.
Photo via The Smart Local
According to NST, the Taiping Municipal Council (MPT) said the tree near Taman Tasik Taiping hetty had collapsed on January 20th, 2018 due to heavy rain.
The 136-year-old tree fell on the road due to a failed root system involving it’s structural and anchor roots.
“The main root which strengthens and holds the stand of the tree was rotten. The main root which was about 1.5 metres from the root collar had rotted with an estimated cavity of about eight inches in diameter.
“This tree has long been strengthened by these large roots that grow towards the parking lot, while most of the main branches and stems grow inclined towards the road and the lake,” the council said in a statement.
Photo via The Smart Local
The Heritage Tree Inspection and Evaluation Report at the Taiping Lake Garden released by the Certified Arborist in 2019 stated that the strength of the surviving branches would decline and die in a few months or a year and needs to be monitored immediately.
The council also added that they have installed propping and treated the tree as suggested by the arborist, as well as planted rain trees as a measure to replace dead trees in 2019 which was completed by former MPT president, Borhan Abdul Halim.
To date, the council has officially tagged 113 rain trees at the park and also maintains over 1,300 other types of trees with help from arborists and experts from the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM).
Taiping Lake Gardens is the first public garden established during the British rule in the country in 1880 and is fully administered by the council.
This is actually very sad.
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
