The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will launch a ‘Tree Ambulance’ on World Environment Day, 5 June, as part of its “Save Trees” campaign to protect Pune’s urban ecology amid rapid development.

The ambulance will provide year-round medical care for old and damaged trees, many centuries old, threatened by pollution, construction, and neglect. Equipped with tools to treat infected branches, remove nails and posters, prune dead limbs, and spray pesticides, the unit will include a 30-metre ladder, gas welding machine, hammer, and treatment pumps. A team of five trained technicians will manage the operations, including one staffer dedicated to collecting seeds from households.

The initiative responds to widespread damage caused by unauthorised hoardings, pollution, and unplanned growth. Illegal advertisements and nails shorten tree lifespans by damaging trunks. Beyond emergency care, the ambulance will handle seed banking, seed ball distribution, replanting uprooted trees, plant distribution, health surveys, and removal of dead or dangerous trees.

Initially, one ambulance will serve Pune, with potential expansion based on feedback and performance.

Source:UrbanNews