Junior Thackeray cousins support cause of Aarey

The junior Thackeray cousins have come out with vehement opposition to the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis’ government’s plans to revive the Mumbai Metro Line-3 crashed in the Aarey Milk Colony from the Kanjur Marg proposed site.

Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray’s two sons - Aaditya and Tejas, and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray’s son Amit have expressed their opposition to the project.

While Aaditya is the Yuva Sena President and former state Environment, Tourism and Protocol Minister, Tejas is a naturalist and conservationist.

Amit, who heads the students’ wing of MNS, is a caricaturist and environmentalist.

It may be recalled that the then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, when he headed the BJP-Shiv Sena government from October 2014-November 2019, aggressively pushed the project in Aarey Colony.

However, when Thackeray became the Chief Minister in November 2019, the photographer-conservationist scrapped the project.

Now with Fadnavis back, now as Deputy Chief Minister, he has ordered the revival of the project and prevailed upon Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to take it forward.

Taking to Twitter, Aaditya said: “This is about sustainable development and better planning. This is about Mumbai’s development and we are staying here instead of being handed over a badly planned project that destroys Mumbai's Aarey Forest.”

Aaditya further pointed out that Line 6 would anyway need a car shed, either at Kanjur Marg - which was originally thought of in 2018 - or at Pahadi Goregaon. “Having studied both, both are feasible for Line 3 too.

Metros don’t go to a car shed after every trip, they need stabilising lines that are missing for Line 3,” he said.

Because of the Maharashtra Legislature session, Aaditya, however, missed the protests at Aarey. “Since I have to attend the sitting of the State Legislative Assembly today, I will be missing out on the protest for Aarey Forest and the MMRCL land. I humbly urge the new government to reconsider its decision. Don’t cast hate for us, on to our beloved Mumbai.”

Added Amit: “We definitely need development but not at the cost of the environment. If our environment is completely destroyed then there will be no one left for politics or to be ruled upon. The politicians should take a note of this."