Aarey Saviours In Mumbai But Shiv Sena Now Wants To Chop 1,000 Trees For Thackeray Memorial. Politics Over Planet?
The environment is one issue that every political party tries to address these days cautiously because of the increasing number of protests and people¡¯s participation in the pro-environment movement.
The environment is one issue that every political party tries to address cautiously these days because of the increasing number of protests and people¡¯s participation in the pro-environment movement that is gaining ground in several parts of the world in contemporary times.
All of us are seeing the alarming rates at which the glaciers are melting and the ocean level is rising. This is posing threat to several leading cities in the world and their futures as well as survival is at an existential crisis. Many experts have already dubbed that it may have already been far too late for us to save the planet, while several others argue that this should not hold us back from protecting the environment to the extent that we can.
They suggest that the dystopian predictions should not hold us back from striving together to build a greener and a better tomorrow.
But despite differences on the extent of the damage that global warming and climate change may be posing to our futures, one thing that most scientists and environmentalists collectively agree upon is the unique character and ability of the trees and forests to help us combat the boiling crisis.
This is perhaps why the outrage of the people reaches its peak these days whenever there is massive deforestation carried out by governments or corporate bodies. These protests and people¡¯s movements that gain attention in the digital age are mostly confined to urban or metropolitan settings whereas more forests and trees are being chopped down in the hinterlands and in the hearts of the wilderness.
It was thus that protests against the chopping of trees in Mumbai¡¯s fabled Aarey colony for the construction of the Mumbai Metro car shed rocked India¡¯s financial capital earlier this year. People from all walks of life came together to resent against the move.
This emerged as a battleground for politicians as everybody who opposed the move drew the ire of the press and the protestors in the run up to the crucial state assembly elections. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, which would later form the government, seemed to tread cautiously and publicly announced that they are committed to saving Aarey and will punish those responsible for chopping off the trees.
Aarey isn¡¯t just about 2700 trees, or triple it¡¯s number that would possibly transplanted (if at all successfully done as promised). It¡¯s about an ecosystem in an area thriving with leopards, pythons, birds & what increased human activity, construction and machines would do to it
¡ª Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) September 4, 2019
But Shiv Sena¡¯s fight for the environment ends in Aarey, precisely after the elections ended, as the party that fought the decision to fell trees at Aarey Colony now controls the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation, which wants to chop down 1,000 trees for a Bal Thackeray memorial in Priyadarshini Park.
Reported by Mumbai Mirror, the move clearly shows the misplaced priorities of the Shiv Sena government in Mumbai. It also serves to remind the people that even issues as serious and compelling as the environment are being exploited by political parties for their vested interests.
The Shiv Sena, however, on Sunday evening denied that their government is making any such attempt. "As a Mayor, I would like to clarify ¡ª we are going to ensure that no trees are cut for the construction of the memorial," Aurangabad Mayor Nandkumar Ghodele said.
¡°There has been talks circulating that we are going to cut trees to build a memorial for HinduHriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray. As a Mayor, I would like to clarify ¡ª we are going to ensure that no trees are cut for the construction of the memorial.
¡ª Shivsena Communication (@ShivsenaComms) December 8, 2019
-Mayor Nandkumar Ghodele pic.twitter.com/IANbWWpc7F
The fight to save the environment is long impending upon us but the most crucial role will be played by governments and their agencies. The longer we continue to play politics over the planet and consider the incidents according to political and vested interests rather than the interest of the plant, the more damage we will be doing to the environment, and our collective futures.