Tree lovers cleared the soil dumped by City Municipal Council, on the saplings planted by nature enthusiast Ganesh Kadagadalu beside the road, near the new private bus stand on Race Course Road in Madikeri.
After the CMC dumped the soil on the plants, the people staged a protest against the lackadaisical attitude of the CMC officials on Sunday.
The protesters embraced the plants and said that they will not let the CMC destroy the plants. On Saturday night, Ganesh Kadagadalu had vented his ire against the administration and held a protest alone.
Nature lovers Shivaprasad, Ranjith Kalavapara, Chandan Nandarabettu, Rajath Raj and Yathin Chappera cleared the soil dumped on the plants.
The protests were withdrawn after the CMC staff assured that they will not clear the plants and there is no plan to lay interlocks on the stretch in the near future.