Environment activists in Navi Mumbai will form a silent human chain on Saturday, September 27, to protest the repeated chopping of an almond tree at Sector-1, Vashi, allegedly to clear the view for an advertisement hoarding.
Activists Madhu Shankar and Anarjit Chavan said they had repeatedly alerted Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) officials about the violation, but the tree continues to be cut as soon as its branches grow back.
NMMC ward officer Sukhdev Yedve, who earlier inspected the site along the Vashi-Kopar Khairane road and photographed the damage, said, “This seems to be a repetition of an old case,” adding that he would trace the earlier show-cause notice and take the next step. NatConnect Foundation director B. N. Kumar also raised the issue with the NMMC City Engineer.
Meanwhile, an FM radio channel amplified the protest by airing interviews with Kumar, where the RJ questioned the status of a full-grown tree standing in front of an advertisement hoarding. Kumar highlighted that several birds lost their nests due to the chopping and warned that Navi Mumbai’s tree cover is already critically low — about one tree per person compared to the global norm of seven to eight.
“It is tragic that we are losing full-grown, fruit-bearing native trees due to the reckless behaviour of certain vested interests,” activist Anarjit Chavan said. Madhu Shankar urged citizens to be more vigilant against “anti-tree people.”
