Mumbai News: Save Aarey Activists Hold 175th Consecutive Sunday Protest

Mumbai: Environmental activists gathered yesterday at Aarey forest for their 175th consecutive Sunday, seeking protection for one of the last large green areas in the city.

The protests had begun in 2019 as a campaign by the Save Aarey Movement to oppose the state government’s decision to build a car shed for Metro 3. The second phase of the protest, 'Sundays for Aarey', started in July 2022 with a demand to provide the status of protected forest to the entire Aarey which covers over 1100 hectares.

The activists gathered at Picnic Point inside Aarey, displaying pictures and sketches of the environmental destruction in the city. They highlighted the recent deaths in Indore due to contamination of water and the worsening air quality in Delhi and Mumbai and other cities because of construction and destruction of forested areas. The activists also raised voices against the loss of forest habitats for animals and adivasi communities.

Alex Dsouza of the Goregaon unit of the Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCS), who joined the protest, said activists have been gathering every Sunday morning without a break. “This is because it is a citizens' movement and no party politics are involved. We are ordinary Mumbaikars and honestly raising our voices in favour of our fellow citizens. Aarey forest is the last refuge for Mumbai's animals and we must protect it. We are worried about the wellbeing of our future generation,” said Dsouza who added that caring for creation is every citizen's responsibility.

Meanwhile, activists have also raised alarm over the plan to cut 45,000 mangrove trees to build the extension of the Coast Road. Teesta Setalwad, civil rights activist and secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace, said in a statement: "First, the trees of Aarey were cut down under the pretext that the Metro would reduce traffic on the roads. Now, preparations are underway to cut 45,000 Mangroves to build a Coastal Road, again to 'reduce traffic'. Mangroves act like buffers in coastal areas, protecting inhabited areas from tidal upsurges.

Activists also pointed out that compensatory plantation of trees in Chandrapur, nearly 800 kms away from the city, is a futile idea. “The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is preparing to cut 45,000 mangroves in Mumbai and they plan to plant trees on 100 acres in Chandrapur as compensation. Does this make any sense? While people across the globe are trying to save the environment, in Mumbai, the BMC is ensuring that if your area did not flood before, it will start flooding during the monsoon now. Cutting the mangroves means creating a 'July 26-like' situation in Mumbai every rainy season. But the government only cares about making money from contractors; it does not matter to them even if your houses are submerged,” Setalwad said in the statement.

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