A wall where four iconic banyan trees were cut down last August has been “beautified” by the Highways Department.
Local resident Tsui Ho-yee told HKFP that the department cleaned up the remaining roots around the Bonham Road wall four months ago in fear of them damaging the structure of the wall when it was wet. “There was indeed a beautification plan originally but the Highways Department decided to procrastinate,” she said.
Central and Western District Councillor Ted Hui Chi-fung said that it was not a “beautification” plan but an act of “uglification”, according to Hong Kong 01. He added that the colour of cement did not match tightly with the wall and said that the”tree roots should be left on the wall as a lesson for society”.
According to Hong Kong Economic Times, the department said that the “beautification” plan was completed last September but they would do further work on the colour difference in near future.
One of the original six trees growing out of the stone wall in Mid-levels collapsed on 22 July, injuring two people. All of the trees were removed shortly after a tree on the same road came crashing down during a heavy rainstorm.
