LAHORE, Oct 7: Some 60 or so eucalyptus trees at the Linear Park of Model Town were axed on Saturday for making a motorcycle racing track there.

The felled trees included 11 plants having up to one-foot diameter, 21 having up to 8-inch diameter and 30 having up to 4-inch diameter.

Youth playing cricket in a nearby ground told this reporter the cutting of trees began early in the morning. “They first targeted big trees and then turned the axes towards small plants. Soon after a tree is felled, they cut it into pieces load it in a tractor trolley bearing registration number LHE 6298 and drove away when the carrier is full,” said Shehryar, Faizan and Nauman, all residents of B block of the Model Town.

The men involved in the operation said they were employees of a contractor who has been awarded the contract to cut down 100 or so eucalyptus trees in the park and level the ground to make a motorcycle racing track.

Officials of the Model Town Society said they had nothing to do with the park. “We merely own the park and have no administrative control over it. —Staff Reporter