Hyderabad, Aug. 26 -- Residents living around the 125-year-old Paigah Palace in Begumpet have raised an alarm after the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) cut down nearly 50 trees inside the heritage campus, which is being renovated to house the authority's new headquarters.

According to a Deccan Chronicle report, Laxmi Narasimham, a retired employee and resident of Indian Airlines Colony who has lived in the area for 36 years, said trees were felled between Saturday, August 22, and Monday morning, August 24. He recalled that the palace grounds once sheltered peacocks, birds, honeycombs and butterflies, and that the greenery had been maintained even during the years the site housed the US Consulate.

Another resident, Sr...