Mumbai: Meet the people who are fighting to Save Aarey

Their job is far from done but members of the Save Aarey Milk Colony community have something to cheer about The state government has constituted a panel of experts to find alternative locations for the controversial Metro car shed which was otherwise going to come at the cost of 2298 trees and the rich biodiversity of Aarey Milk ColonyChildren convey a telling message during a February 15 protest to save the cityrsquos last remaining green lungs PicsSameer MarkandeThe movement gathered steam with the participation of citizens in large numbers but the seeds were sown by a group of likeminded individuals that included morning and evening walkers cyclists wildlife photographers and nature lovers Members of this community have managed to find a proper balance between their professions and their participation in the causeThe members attached to this group feel that every individual should devote some time for the noble cause once in a week in order to make this movement more successfulManish GadiaProfession Banker and wildlife photographerTask Founder collaborating with other NGOsThe Save Aarey group including the group on Facebook and Google Groups is the brainchild of banker and wildlife photographer Manish Gadia The 33yearold formed the group in 2010 with other nature lovers to protest against the allocation of land for a training facility for Force OneldquoIt was the late Vinay Athalye who inspired me to stand with him to ensure Panchavati Gardens in Aarey is saved from being allocated for the Force One facility before which Save Aarey FB Group was created I remember him over 65 years old taking paper cuttings and urging evening walkers to silently protest against the land allocationrdquo he recalledThe plan ran into trouble and the gardens were eventually excluded from being acquired The Facebook group meanwhile grew to more than 1500 members and also got a logo They reported several illegal encroachments and fires lit by tribals to the Aarey security and management Gadia credits Athalyersquos resolve as an inspiration for carrying on with his work The group planted sixfoot saplings in 2011 next to Chhota Kashmir police stationBy the end of 2014 Gadia had gotten together with other active Aarey supporters like Kamlesh Dalal Manish Sethi Prashant Hublikar and Rishi Aggarwal ldquoWith Sethi and Aggarwal we launched a massive Aarey cleanliness drive in November 2014 Here we grew spontaneouslyRishi highlighted the magnitude of ongoing issues which led to the Save Aarey communityrsquos meeting at the office of Volunteer for Better India VBI an NGO VBI joined us for the cleanliness drive Rishi guided the team and egged us on to ensure Aareyrsquos survivalrdquo Gadia said After several rounds of awareness campaigns the Save Aarey community had a good team to work withRenee VyasProfession BusinesswomanTask Organises tree walksA qualified botanist Renee Vyas 59 a Vile Parle resident has been associated with the Save Aarey movement since November 2014 The tree lover also organises tree walks for various schools and nature lovers Though she has a business of her own to take care of she managed to find time to dedicate to the causeldquoAarey Milk Colony is one of the last surviving green lungs of Mumbai and nowhere in Mumbai except SGNP will we find such rich biodiversity Protecting it is very important and so my group of tree walkers and I decided to join the Save Aarey Milk Colony group Our only demand is that the authorities should shift the Metro car depot to some other locationrdquo Vyas addedRishi AggarwalProfession Researcher Observer Research FoundationTask Interacting with government authoritiesEnvironmentalist and activist Rishi Aggarwal 40 is the man behind taking the Save Aarey Milk Colony movement further and attributes its success to the involvement of several likeminded people NGOs and even politiciansAggarwal who works with a think tank was the one who suggested that the disputed car depot be constructed on Mumbai Port Trust land ldquoI first experienced Aarey during walks 25 years ago as a teenager I have been involved with speaking about saving Aarey for more than a decade now highlighting the need to conserve it as a bufferrdquo Aggarwal told this paperHe was among the first to raise the battle cry to save the buffer zone and has led all core activities related to political activism in the past six months in the Metro car depot issue in order to make sure they receive the high attentionldquoI gave the call for a dharna outside the Tree Authority meeting on February 8 and subsequently the protest at the yard site on February 15 My work has suffered a lot due to this campaignrdquo he saidMona AmbegaonkarProfession ActressTask Gathering facts litigationThe actress joined the cause last month when the Tree Authority meeting took place in which the members refused to give permission to the MMRC to chop the trees She was the brain behind the Aam Aadmi Partyrsquos AAP torch march last SundayAmbegaonkar has been going to the car depot site every day to meet with locals and tribals and is collecting evidence along with Pendharkar to prove there is wildlife at Aarey a contention that the MMRC had denied to the Japanese agency funding the projectldquoMore people should come forward and participate in the cause on ground and not just on social networking sites Larger public participation will pressurise the government I am going to file a PIL because I want to save the rich biodiversity of Aarey Milk Colony and for that the car depot needs to be shiftedrdquo she saidRahul JhunjhunwalaProfession ArchitectTask Finance manages social mediaJhunjhunwala can be credited for successfully gathering steam for the campaign on social media A trained architect he owns a firm that manufactures lights in Daman and Vapi He got involved with the community in November 2014 through his friend Manish Gadia and recalls coming to Aarey Colony for cycling and walksldquoI have seen this place deteriorate before my eyes and was very charged up when Manish took up this initiative to save Aarey We are 1012 core members of the group who are looking at different aspects of the movement Some of us are spreading awareness in schools some are looking at legal aspects like filing of PILs and RTI applicationsOthers are involved in designing graphics and printing posters banners Tshirts badges etc Some of us had gone to lsquoRun Powai Runrsquo and other street campaigns to raise awareness for this causerdquo he stated Jhunjhunwala manages the official Save Aarey Facebook page and its Twitter account The finances for the campaign are also handled out of his officeStalin DayanandProfession Conservationist with Vanashakti an NGOTask LitigationStalin Dayanand 51 joined the cause when he saw notices stuck on trees announcing their deathldquoI oversee conservation education and litigation for Vanashakti to protect the natural wealth of our country Dayanand has filed over 15 public interest litigations PILs regarding municipal waste managementKaustubh BhagatProfession Consultant with Greenline an NGOTask VolunteerBhagat represents his organisation in the Save Aarey movement Having specialised in ecology ecorestoration and environment education his expertise comes in handyldquoI joined this cause because I feel strongly about Aarey It is either now that we stand up for our environment or never againrdquo he statedBiju AugustineProfession Civil engineerTask VolunteerBiju Augustine 45 has been associated with the Save Aarey movement since its inception in 2010 ldquoManaging my professional work along with my hobby as an environmentalist is a difficult taskHowever only an environmentalist understands the importance of forests and wildlife It is vital to save Aarey as it is the only buffer zone to the Sanjay Gandhi National Parkrdquo he saidManish SethiProfession EntrepreneurTask Managed government authorities graphicsThe 44yearold IITBombay alumnus owns a firm that designs corporate interiors Sethi has been one of the active members who took the cause forward ldquoI have been cycling in Aarey for 10 years and have been watching its degradation in the last 35 yearsHence I got together with fellow citizens a year ago We first ran the Clean Aarey initiative and started online petitions as our aim is to protect Aarey and its biodiversityManaging time is tough but my experience in multitasking in the corporate world helpsrdquo he said Sethirsquos experience of working with diverse teams aided the movement But he gives due credit to his wife who supported him at home and in his businessJyoti SharmaProfession HomemakerTask VolunteerThis Malad resident lives close to Aarey Colony and says the spot holds a special place in her heart She threw her hat into the ring with the Clean Aarey day on November 2 2014 in which her children also participated ldquoWe met other passionate Aarey lovers who had come there A week later we came together to discuss the threats to Aarey the yard zoo road widening etcAfter brainstorming sessions we started getting societies individuals schools and organisations to send letters to the chief minister prime minister MMRDA to save Aareyrdquo she recalled adding that they also got involved in public events like Mumbai Marathon Powai run to spread awarenessldquoThese trees animals and birds are like my siblingsI canrsquot let them perish in front of my eyes We are doing everything we can we even put in our own money for expenses We have come closer to our goalrdquo Sharma saidKshitij AshtekarProfession Manager at IT firmTask Recording tree dataNature and wildlife lover Kshitij Ashtekar 40 works as a senior manager with a multinational IT company and has been highlighting the issue of dying rain trees in Mumbai for the past year or so He induced the civic body to take measures to save the dying treesldquoI make it a point to devote some time for the Save Aarey cause as saving Aarey Milk Colony and its biodiversity is very important Whatever hours possible between work and definitely few hours of the weekend is what I give for the cause I have been associated with saving Mumbai trees for more than 10 years and the Aarey cause for six monthsrdquo Ashtekar saidHe is also the one who mapped each and every tree of the 2298 that have been marked out for chopping by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation MMRC Ashtekar has recorded the details of the trees such as its scientific name GPS location to keep a record of trees in the colonyAnand PendharkarProfession Runs SPROUTS an NGOTask Volunteer documenting wildlife at depot siteThis 43yearold who is passionate about ecotourism operates an NGO called SPROUTS Environment Trust He joined the movement a month ago but has been active in the arenas of wildlife and environment conservationPendharkar said ldquoMy work has gotten affected drastically but this saving Aarey is of prime importance I in fact cancelled my camp to be here for the campaignrdquoPendharkar plans to approach the National Green Tribunal with the case In order to strengthen his case he visits the Metro car depot site every day to document wildlife species there which can then be provided as proof