20 April,2011 06:26 AM IST | | Rinkita Gurav
After Cuffe Parade woman's protest against the mowing down of trees in a residential society, they will now be replanted Chopped off: The trees in the compound of Sea Lord Society in Cuffe Parade were cut down as their weight had started cracking up the compound wall.
Here's one fierce green warrior who refuses to back down from her green crusade. Sushila Kapadia, a Cuffe Parade resident, just couldn't sit back and watch trees being chopped down in her neighbourhood. As a result of her untiring efforts, the tree-hackers are being forced to replant trees in the vicinity. Yesterday morning, the Sea Lord Society residents mowed down trees in their compound, raising Kapadia's ire, whose dwelling is bang opposite the Sea Lord Society, on G D Somani Road.
Pic/Satyajit Desai
Tree hugging
Kapadia promptly informed the Cuffe Parade police, and also lodged a complaint at the BMC's A ward office. She said, "At first the BMC authorities were reluctant to register my complaint, but eventually relented. The police subsequently intimated me that the society had obtaining permission for hacking the trees from the BMC itself. The police thereafter tried to placate me by drawing my attention to the fact that the trees had been causing inconvenience for the residents, as their weight had started cracking up the compound wall."
She went on to allege that the BMC officials had informed her that they had received a letter of consent from a politician, granting them permission to go on a tree-cutting spree. As a result, the society residents hacked three peepul trees down. Kapadia said, "I think the residents were worried about their cars parked under the large trees, and hence decided to mow them down."
Making amends
Pruthesh Shah, the secretary of the building, conveyed through Trivedi that the society has already contacted the Cuffe Parade Residents Association to help them out in their venture to replant trees. "I have recently seen the location. We will plant six peepul trees tomorrow," said Trivedi.
The Other Side
A senior official from the BMC A ward garden department, however, denied the allegations. "I don't know whether a politician wrote a letter or not but the society had requested for permission to cut down only one tree, not three." He further added, "We also instructed the residents to ensure that the trees were replanted as soon as possible."
When MiD DAY spoke to Kiran Trivedi, the manager of the residential society, he said, "We had obtained all the necessary permission for cutting down the trees. The trees had grown to gigantic proportions, and had grown out of the compound wall, spreading their arms towards the MTNL office beside our building. The authorities did not object to our plans." He further added that the trees were only trimmed and not uprooted, contrary to Kapadia's allegations.
