The Telangana forest department is administering saline treatment to the tree to save its life from termite infestation.
Located on the outskirts of Mahbubnagar, the tree is claimed by the state forest authorities to be the second largest banyan tree in the world that spreads over three acres drawing large number of tourists every year. It is locally called ‘Pillalamarri’ or children’s banyan tree.
However, authorities started to notice branches crumbling in December of last year, which prompted them to restrict the area to tourists.
Mahbubnagar district forest officer Chukka Gangi Reddy mentioned two main reasons for the crumbling -- heavy termite infestation from trunk to branches to pop roots and secondly, branches got bent downwards with tourists using them as swings.
He said initially the authority made trench around the root system and watered the root system with diluted Chloropyrifos, followed by another effort to save the tree by making holes around the affected parts of the trunk and branches and pumping diluted insecticide in it using pressure pumps.
“However, it did not work properly,” Reddy said.
It was then the authority decided to inject diluted insecticide into the tree like a saline drip and hung hundreds of saline bottles filled with insecticide every two metres.
“It is working very well,” the official said.
Indian banyan trees are known for their sprawling growth and strong roots. They are able to grow so large as roots dropped from their branches function as false trunks, providing extra support to the tree.