It has been revealed that a total of 558 trees that are more than 100 years old have been identified as being dangerous in Colombo city, Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Commissioner Bhadrani Jayawardena said.

She said that following information from various parties, only 330 trees were identified as dangerous.

However, the Commissioner said that during a subsequent inspection, 558 trees had been identified as dangerous, and 214 of them had been removed with the intervention of the CMC.

“Compared to other towns, Colombo has more trees and certain trees are more than 100 years old. The CMC is putting in a huge effort to balance the trees by cutting branches in a bid to conserve these trees.

“Apart from the trees that have been identified as being dangerous, other trees in Colombo City are also at risk of falling. The topic of falling trees in Colombo was discussed again when a large tree near Gregory’s Road, Cinnamon Garden, Colombo, fell across the road. Earlier too, many trees have fallen across several roads in Colombo,” Commissioner Jayawardena said.