Kids join protest against axing trees for widening of Attibele-Sarjapur Road

Children have joined the protest against felling of trees to widen the Attibele-Sarjapur Road by the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL).

The agency has proposed to axe 8,561 trees to widen the 155-kilometre road. Some of the trees were sawed off in violation of procedures. Activists took cudgels against the indiscriminate ripping of the greenery for more than a year and took the matter to the Karnataka High Court.

On Saturday, students from several schools joined the protest. Many held aloft placards urging officials to let them breathe and not to snatch away their future.

“There are ways to save the trees. Why aren’t the officials trying that? The more trees we cut, the more carbon will remain in the air at the cost of oxygen. Trees are important to secure our future, not the road,” said Raina, a student from Greenwood International School.

Shruti, another student, said tree felling will make future generations suffer. “It is difficult to grow such huge trees. Once we lose them, they are lost forever,” she said.

Jhatkaa.org, Voice of Sarjapura and Rajani Santosh have filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the high court questioning the project taken up without conducting an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). Though the matter was expected to be heard on Saturday, it was not listed. Activists previously noted that some of the trees are a century old. They questioned the assurance for compensatory afforestation, noting that “decorative saplings” planted by officials will not make up for the huge loss.

“Each tree hosts thousands of birds and insects. These decorative plants can’t be an alternative,” Jyotsna from Voice of Sarjapur said.