Hundreds of activists on Saturday staged the 'Chalo Chipko' (Let's hug trees) agitation in the Mutha riverbed in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/search/pune-articles" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Pune city</a> to protest the felling of trees for the ambitious Pune River Front Development (RFD) project.
The project envisages development of a 44-kilometer stretch of the river bank comprising 22.2 km of the Mula river, 10.4 km of the Mutha river and 11.8 km of the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/search/maharashtra-articles" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Mula-Mutha river</a>.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the project in March 2022.
The protesters held placards, shouted slogans and hugged the trees along the riverbank while forming a human chain.
The activists accused the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) of destroying natural greenery along the riverbank near Bund Garden in the name of its River Rejuvenation Project.
Also Read: <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/bhiwandi-building-collapse-12-people-rescued-maharashtra-cm-visits-incident-site-23283757" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Bhiwandi building collapse: 12 people rescued, Maharashtra CM visits incident site</a>
A few thousand trees including some rare and old trees are being cut down for a 1-km stretch of the riverfront, they alleged.
The PMC, however, refuted the claims and said there are no old and rare trees among the trees that would be affected.
"During the work of river rejuvenation, it is necessary to cut some trees, and in their place, more than 65,000 trees will be planted," it said in a press release.
Activist Sarang Yadwadkar claimed that flood levels of the Mula and Mutha rivers would rise by five feet due to the project as the width of the water course is being reduced.
"Environmental clearance was given on the condition that not a single tree will be cut, but without any permission, the PMC has already started felling trees inside the river bed," he alleged.
Mangesh Dighe, environmental officer at the PMC, said the objective of the project is to protect the river bank on both the sides from flood and trees will be planted to create a green belt in the heart of the city.
"The main aim is to make the area pollution free as the sewage water will be diverted into the sewage treatment plant," he said.
"About 10,000 trees are affected but more than 3,000 trees will be preserved. More than 4,000 trees will be transplanted and only 3,000 trees will have to be removed. The trees which we are going to plant are complementary to the ecosystem of river," he said.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
 <script async="async" data-cfasync="false" src="//pl23789885.revenuecpmgate.com/7445444aea29efc3d061cbd866026c06/invoke.js"></script>
 <div id="container-7445444aea29efc3d061cbd866026c06"></div>

Hundreds of activists on Saturday staged the `Chalo Chipko` (Let`s hug trees) agitation in the Mutha riverbed in Pune city to protest the felling of trees for the ambitious Pune River Front Development (RFD) project

Green activists stage `Chipko` agitation to protest tree felling for river front development in Pune

Punjab: Gas leak at Ludhiana factory, 9 killed, 11 injured

The project envisages development of a 44-kilometer stretch of the river bank comprising 22.2 km of the Mula river, 10.4 km of the Mutha river and 11.8 km of the Mula-Mutha river

Green activists stage 'Chipko' agitation to protest tree felling for river front development in Pune

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Home / News / India News / Article / Green activists stage 'Chipko' agitation to protest tree felling for river front development in Pune