| In front of Tel Bhawan | The "Bleeding" Tree |
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| Protesters outside Tel Bhawan, ONGC, Dehradun | |
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Terming the felling as unjustifiable, Dr Nitin Pandey, a member of CFGD, said that the group had offered to assist ONGC in transplanting the trees to another site. He also said that it shows that ONGC which proclaims its green credentials to the world cares “two hoots” about the environment in the Doon Valley. He added that the Gas godown which the ONGC plans to build after cutting 95 healthy green trees could have been built anywhere else. He said that the claim of ONGC of shifting the godown close to its Fire Station was a gimmick to cut trees, because no where in world is it mandatory to shift gas godowns next to fire stations.
Noted Historian of Doon Valley, Mr. Deviki Nandan Pandey, said that it pained him to see responsible corporates behaving so "irresponsibly". He said that until each and everyone as an individual and as an organization in Dehradun started caring for the environment of Doon Valley, nothing much can be done and the desertification of Dehradun will be inevitable. "The attitude needs to change" he added.
"If they were really serious about planting trees in compensation for the trees felled, they should have planted them 2 yrs ago, when the plans were finalized for felling the trees. Why wait for a public outcry and then proclaim your intention of doing compensatory afforestation" said Venu Dhingra, a CFGD member. "Besides" she added, "who will verify which tree has been planted as a compensation and where. This is all to mollify the public opinion". Noted Charted Accountant of Dehradun, Mr. Ravi Maheshwari, said that he could simply not understand the logic behind this "slaughter" of trees by ONGC. He said with a little bit of planning and care, such actions can be avoided.
| Protesters in front of Tel Bhawan, ONGC, Dehra dun | |
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True to their past conduct of orderly behavior, demonstrators of CFGD and its sister organizations sat by the side of the main gate of Tel Bhawan and did not obstruct the traffic or block the gate. Crowds of curious ONGC employees watched the demonstration from a distance. It is pertinent to mention that news of tree felling by ONGC was passed on to CFGD by employees of ONGC who could not come out in the open for fear of disciplinary action. The tree helpline run by the group had rung incessantly on Monday as the felling of trees started, with most callers being ONGC employees who were very upset at the axing. A few visitors to ONGC were seen joining the protesters on learning about the reason for protest.
"It is time they practiced what they preach" was the general refrain. "As ONGC goes around the world, trying to give a Green Image, such mass felling of trees is not acceptable" concluded Himanshu Arora, a CFGD activist.
Among those who participated in the protest, were Mrs. Florence Pandhi, of Friends of Doon, Anil Baloni of Green Force, Laksha Mehta, Tsering Chozum, Jaya Singh, Prateek Panwar, Sonia Pandey, Ankit Sajwan, Harminder Sing, Priya Maheshwari & Hema Phulera.
| Youngest Protester in front of Tel Bhawan, ONGC, Dehra dun |
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