Environmentalists have expressed anger after the district administration’s action of chopping down several fruit-yielding trees in the district office complex, Rajatadri, at Manipal in Udupi district, came to light on Monday (April 27).

The district administration’s action follows the electrocution of Sadanand, 54, a village accountant, on April 24 during his attempt to pluck mangoes in the complex. While several organisations have demanded that high-tension power lines be shifted out of the complex, the action of chopping down the trees has outraged activists. Besides yielding fruits, the trees also housed several species of birds.