Of late Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) has invited attention of thousands of people for removing 2,141 trees in a portion of land for the construction of a Metro Rail car shed. The act acts as a shock especially at a time when the Amazon fire has not yet been totally extinguished from the memories of global humans, and; "You have stolen my dreams and childhood with your empty words"-of Greta Thunberg at the UN climate action summit, New York- still resonate in ears. But these appeals from Greta seem to have fallen deaf to the ears of MMRLC.
Aarey Colony is home for some of the oldest trees of Mumbai city where the ruthless rail project has performed mass lynching. Some trees were hundred years old.
Appearing before the special bench of chief justices of Supreme Court on October 7, the Maharashtra government told that required cutting of trees is already over. But the state is concerned for the environment and to reduce the damage to the environment, the government of Maharashtra plans to raise approximately 25,000 trees. For that objective, MMRLC claims to have already planted 23,846 new trees and additionally distributed 25,000 saplings as part of part of its green initiatives.
Can such green initiative replace this mass destruction with the planting of saplings? Even if one is thoroughly to believe in the sincerity of MMRLC's green initiatives, what about the uncertain rain? Let alone the damage caused by excessive rain in the other parts of the country but has Mumbai not suffered enough this year? According to a report of Indiatoday September 16, Mumbai has average rainfall of 2,353 mm per annum but the figure this year reaches to 3,475 mm, breaking the previous highest of 3,452 mm in 1954. Roxy Mathew Koll, climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Meteorology, says that this intense rain is due to rising temperature.
Geographically Mumbai is rich with coastal line of 149 km and 16 km of beaches but the city has an estimated population of 20,185,064 according to Press Information Bureau, Government of India. The very first rain this year exposed the incapacity of Mumbai Municipal Corporation when the capital was seemed afloat nearby the sea. A significant number of people lost lives in addition to the casualties. It is guaranteed that nobody must have found out the exact number of trees which might have been damaged in this rain.
Furthermore there is an NGO which has taken an initiative of planting many trees in a small area of land, using Japanese technique 'Miyawaki method' under the project called green yatra. But there is a difference between man made forest and nature made forest. What about the wildlife, whichsoever is left to these already decapitated forests?
Will these saplings, say turned into plants next year, be able to survive the thrashing rain?
Aarey Colony is home for some of the oldest trees of Mumbai city where the ruthless rail project has performed mass lynching. Some trees were hundred years old.
Appearing before the special bench of chief justices of Supreme Court on October 7, the Maharashtra government told that required cutting of trees is already over. But the state is concerned for the environment and to reduce the damage to the environment, the government of Maharashtra plans to raise approximately 25,000 trees. For that objective, MMRLC claims to have already planted 23,846 new trees and additionally distributed 25,000 saplings as part of part of its green initiatives.
Can such green initiative replace this mass destruction with the planting of saplings? Even if one is thoroughly to believe in the sincerity of MMRLC's green initiatives, what about the uncertain rain? Let alone the damage caused by excessive rain in the other parts of the country but has Mumbai not suffered enough this year? According to a report of Indiatoday September 16, Mumbai has average rainfall of 2,353 mm per annum but the figure this year reaches to 3,475 mm, breaking the previous highest of 3,452 mm in 1954. Roxy Mathew Koll, climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Meteorology, says that this intense rain is due to rising temperature.
Geographically Mumbai is rich with coastal line of 149 km and 16 km of beaches but the city has an estimated population of 20,185,064 according to Press Information Bureau, Government of India. The very first rain this year exposed the incapacity of Mumbai Municipal Corporation when the capital was seemed afloat nearby the sea. A significant number of people lost lives in addition to the casualties. It is guaranteed that nobody must have found out the exact number of trees which might have been damaged in this rain.
Furthermore there is an NGO which has taken an initiative of planting many trees in a small area of land, using Japanese technique 'Miyawaki method' under the project called green yatra. But there is a difference between man made forest and nature made forest. What about the wildlife, whichsoever is left to these already decapitated forests?
Will these saplings, say turned into plants next year, be able to survive the thrashing rain?
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