(Florence Pandhi addressing the gathering)
They came from all walks of life, teachers, doctors, housewives, school students and college students and even retired government officials, with one single aim – to convey to the administration that people of Dehradun are strongly against the cutting down of green trees in Dehra Dun.
Around a hundred people participated in the silent, sit-in protest among the trees of Parade Ground, called by the “Uttarakhand Khiladi Sangharsh Simiti”, on 2nd August.
Mrs. Pinki Pal, a teacher of St. Thomas College and an enthusiastic participant in the sit-in said “The outrage among people of Doon against the cutting of green trees is obvious. Only the blind (administration) can miss it”. Such strong were these emotions that members of the Shri Aurobindo Society, Dehradun decided to cancel their weekly meeting and join the sit-in protest instead. Says Mrs. Devi Vahi, President of the Socitey “We could not miss this opportunity to show our support for the Sports Students. All of us are against the cutting down of trees in Dehradun”.
(Mrs Jagriti singing a song in praise of Uttarakhand)
People started arriving at the site of the sit-in much before the anointed time of 11am. As the crowd built up, so did the discussion and excitement. Mrs. Jagriti Chopra sang a beautiful song about the unsurpassed beauty and glory of Uttarakhand, which was much appreciated by the gathering.
Among the first to arrive, was Laksha Mehta, a housewife and a resident of Hati Barkala, who brought with her, a number of hand made posters. “Whenever I see a tree being cut, I have a feeling of outrage. Until today, I did not know where to protest. This sit-in has provided me with a platform to express my anger at the City Administration for making our city almost treeless!”
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(Students with their posters)
Another participant who was agitated at the indiscriminate “slaughter” of trees by the Doon Administration was Ruchi Singh Rao, who urged the District Administration to stop before it is too late. She wondered what happened to the slogan “Green Doon, Beautiful Doon” It was promoted by the same people who are now bent upon making Dehradun a desert. She also wanted a network to be set up so that whenever the administration tried to cut any tree in Doon, all the members could immediately rush to the place and stop it.
Another angry participant, Dr. Mahesh Agarwal, a leading Child Specialist of Dehradun said that “For the sake of so-called development, no green tree should be cut”. “Trees mean life, please save them instead of cutting them” added Dr Sangeeta Roy, a leading Gynaecologist of Dehradun. Dr. Sangeeta was accompanied by her 8yr old daughter, Anushree, who lent a helping hand to other children in putting up posters.
Kapil Dev Rawat, President of UAC College, said that in Indian culture, one tree is equivalent to 100 children and therefore must be preserved and protected. He criticized the Dehradun administration for the cutting down of trees and reminded them that they will have to answer God for the sins they are committing now.
Narrating his woes, a participant, Arjun Singh, said that a few months ago the district administration, on the pretext of widening road to his village, Doonga, which is about 35kms from Dehradun, cut down hundreds of trees along a 15km stretch of the road, despite pleas by the villagers that the present road was adequate and they do not want any widening. Whose interest the Forest Department was serving, he wondered scratching his head, that of forests or the tree mafia. He also commented that in the last 2yrs, the State Government has been cutting down trees at a speed which was never seen before.
The biggest round of applause was reserved for Jasvinder Singh Goggi, the President of Sports association. The audience appreciated his and other students role in protecting the trees around Parade Ground. After thanking the participants he urged them not to give up their vigil against those out to “degreen” Dehradun.
The most committed participants in the sit-in, however, were the students of the Sports College. They periodically raised slogans against the City Administration and warned that the axes of the Administration would have to cut them first, before they could cut the trees of Parade Ground. They urged the residents of Doon to “step out to save trees”.
