- Public protest intensifies after NGT stays felling of nearly 8,000 trees
Bhopal: Following the National Green Tribunal’s stay on the felling of 7,871 trees for widening the Ayodhya Bypass to ten lanes, public opposition to the project gained momentum on Thursday as citizens held a powerful demonstration demanding protection of greenery. The NGT has listed the matter for its next hearing on January 8.
Protesters marched on the streets wearing masks, symbolically warning that if trees are lost, people will be forced to live behind masks due to pollution. Some demonstrators stripped to their waists and offered incense sticks as a tribute to trees already cut, turning the protest into a solemn environmental appeal. A two-minute silence was also observed.
Trees being felled are 40 to 80 years old
Environmentalists Subhash Pandey and Umashankar Tiwari, along with petitioners Nitin Saxena, Suyash Kulshrestha, and Rashid Noor, said the trees being felled are 40 to 80 years old and irreplaceable. They argued that while the NHAI proposes planting 81,000 saplings, it would take decades for them to match the ecological value of mature trees.
The protesters demanded that the project be limited to six lanes instead of ten to balance development and environmental protection. They warned that further loss of greenery would worsen pollution, health crises, and quality of life in Bhopal.
