15th century Khurasan Imli tree uprooted amidst strong winds in a village of Dhar in MP

 

Dr Rajesh Jauhri

A Khurasan Imli (tamarind) tree of 15^th century at Aali village near Bagdi on old Mandu road was uprooted due to strong winds on Tuesday night. The tree was so huge that after it was uprooted, a large pit measuring ten to twelve feet in breadth was made at the place where it stood.

Aali Sarpanch Rahul Rana told TOI that the tree was planted at Aali at the same time when they were planted in Mandu fort city during Mughal rule. He said that the tree was around six hundred year old and people of all nearby villages used to take the peculiar kind of tamarind during winters and it was the favourite place of young boys and girls for taking their selfies for posting on social media. Due to this, the tree has been the most viewed landmark of their village on the social media. Rana further said that a small trunk of that tree is still left grounded in the soil and they are hopeful of getting the same tree above the ground in the coming years.

Environmentalist Riteshwari Kumari, a resident of Kunjrod village, about five kilometers from Aali, said that red ants and termite are plenty in the soil in that area. They eat up and damage the roots, which is a reason for uprooting of trees like Khurasan, which have very deep and strong roots. She said that her group is working on the issue and they put anti-termite powder on the soil for saving the trees from them.  

Khurasan as the name suggests, has its origin in Khurasan region near Afghanistan- Iran and the seeds of it came with the invaders that came to Indian sub-continent during Medieval Era. Hundreds of such trees could be seen in the Mandu area and this, along with some such trees must have come from Mandu in the last 500-600 years.    

India's largest English Daily Newspaper Times of India has published detailed news on the same issue, which is as under.