Chemical paint applied to tree trunks around the lake in Kolkata’s Jodhpur Park has triggered an environmental alarm, with experts warning that the oil-based coating could damage living tissue, block the bark’s breathing openings and destroy habitats for insects and lichens.
The trees were painted yellow and white by labourers working for a contractor engaged to prepare the lake banks for Chhath Puja. Morning walkers noticed the work on Friday, and the remaining trees had been painted by Saturday afternoon. The park is located behind Jodhpur Park Boys’ School.
Sanjay Jaisingh, founder of Mithri Mitti, an organisation working to revive damaged trees across Kolkata, said oil-based paint was being used on the trunks. “It is not good for trees at all. It suffocates them. Heavy paints can trap the sun’s heat, which can burn and damage the living tissue underneath the bark,” he said.
Punarbasu Chaudhuri, a professor of environmental science at Calcutta University and convenor of the university’s nature club, said oil-based paints could contain toxic heavy metals such as lead, chromium and cadmium. He said these substances could harm trees when applied to their trunks.
Chaudhuri also explained that the paint could block lenticels, porous openings in bark that allow oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour to move between the atmosphere and a tree’s internal tissues. He compared the effect to blocking a person’s nostrils. The coating could also damage the bark’s microhabitat, which supports spiders, other insects and lichens.
Government sources said the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority was preparing the lake for Chhath Puja. The use of paint on the trees has raised questions about how temporary beautification and event-preparation works are supervised in public landscapes. A resident of Jodhpur Park questioned the need for painting the trunks, saying trees looked best when they remained natural.
The incident follows a separate controversy over bright decorative paint applied to parts of Kolkata’s roads and flyovers during a pre-Puja beautification drive. Sections of the Gariahat and Chingrighata flyovers received rainbow-themed coats, but rain reportedly made some painted surfaces slippery for two-wheelers and affected visibility at night. Videos of motorcyclists skidding on the Chingrighata flyover circulated on social media, after which heavy machinery was used overnight to remove the coloured layers from the asphalt. Police had said the paint had anti-skid properties.
A KMDA official told Metro that the authority had never instructed the contractor to paint the trees and that the contractor had gone beyond the brief. The official said KMDA was considering action against the contractor and that the trees would be restored to their original condition.
