Left for dead, 180-yr-old banyan tree thrives after transplantation
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It was just after the monsoon in 2023 that the tree lay tilted, with an imminent end to an almost two-century-old life.
But as the famous dialogue of the 1970s hit movie Anand goes – Anand Maraa Nahi, Anand Marte Nahi (Anand is not dead, Anands don't die) – this banyan had a different script written for its long dangling roots and branches. Swacch Association, an NGO from the city, kick-started the process of giving this 'Anand' a new lease of life with help from Gorewada zoo.
Fast forward to June 2025, and this banyan tree is blooming with a 'second life', well settled in its new home at the Gorewada zoo, courtesy of a high-quality tree transplantation process by officials. Sarika Khot, assistant manager at Gorewada zoo, said, "Only after 1.5 years of transplantation can we say whether or not it was successful. When a tree is uprooted, it goes into shock, just like humans who meet with a serious accident.
Like humans in the ICU, trees have to be taken care of daily till they reach a stage of self-sustainability."
For the banyan tree, the trailer carrying it took hours to complete the journey of 9km because of the tree's size and weight. Khot said, "I am lucky that my seniors back me completely, due to which I was able to get the resources for scientifically planning everything. For the banyan tree transplantation, we had to bring JCBs, cranes, trailers, and a lot of labour force.
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The transplant site was a 12-foot hole which was over 15 feet in diameter.
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The site was prepared using a mix of organic manure and fungicide to ward off infections. "An entire day was consumed just getting the transplantation done because the tree had to be held at a specific angle by the cranes while JCBs filled mud around it," said Khot.
The zoo, which functions under the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM), is now becoming a 'hospital' for trees that were either getting cut or uprooted.
Here, the green oxygen-exhaling patients range from mere one-year-olds to almost 200 years, and the scientific approach in not only transplantation but also their care means the survival ratio is high.
As for the banyan tree, it's now blooming with green shoots and even had its birthday celebrated. Khot said, "This tree will live on for another 300 years easily." Planted somewhere in the 1840s, this tree has seen empires fall, countries created, and generations go by.
And now, from Gorewada zoo, it will bear testimony to a future which we currently know of only through sci-fi movies.
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