These days, some tall leafy trees are being felled in my neighbourhood, aiming to create a “Clean Shiyan”.

The noises the workers make sawing the trunks are so loud that the residents of the community are disturbed. We cannot have as good a rest at home as before. The senior citizens in our community are mostly opposed to the trees being cut down. In their humble opinion, greenery is an irreplaceable approach to cleaner air and a better environment. Besides, the trees smell so good, especially when they blossom in spring and summer.

The senior citizens’ opinion has fallen on deaf ears so far. The local authority stick to their original plan. The trees are to be felled; some fitness facilities installed in their place. Every day, the arguments grate on my ears as I am going in and out of the residential complex. They even have a minus effect on my study time at home. When I am off school at home, I find it hard to concentrate on my project. All I hear are the noises and the protests.

Fortunately, the workers have stopped digging and cutting by the time I get home at 10.30 pm, which helps me to calm down and study a bit before I go to bed.

I have come to see that a lot of times the government do things that bother us ordinary citizens. Some of the trees were there for decades and decades. Now, they are gone, forever.

Not only were the trees memories of our past but also gifts from nature. I do not know what is the matter with the authority’s head.