1000 plus campaigners sing national anthem to save Aarey

The campaigners have been gathering at the chowk every Sunday since July 3, to protest against the Metro-3 carshed in Aarey’s Prajapur village

Mumbai: In order to evoke the spirit of unity and patriotism and send a strong message to the critics of the Save Aarey movement that their protests are not ‘anti-development’, over 1,000 plus campaigners, gathered at Aarey Colony’s Birsa Munda Chowk on Sunday morning, sung the powerful rendition of the Indian national anthem toward the end of their demonstration at 1pm.

Mumbai, India - July 31, 2022 : Watchdog foundation, Aarey Activist and Aam Aadmi Party workers are protesting against Save Aarey at Picnic Point, near Birsa Munda Chowk, Goregaon, in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, July 31, 2022.(Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

The campaigners have been gathering at the chowk every Sunday since July 3, to protest against the Metro-3 carshed in Aarey’s Prajapur village after deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced reinstating the controversial project back in Aarey Colony, as opposed to its alternative site at Kanjurmarg, which was the preferred choice for the previous MVA government.

Sunday’s demonstration, specifically calling for the MMRCL to stop further removal of vegetation from the depot plot (which environmentalists say is in violation of Supreme Court orders) marked the largest Save Aarey gathering yet since July 3.

Starting July 24, the MMRCL began carrying out preparatory work to clear the plot of existing vegetation using earthmoving machines. MMRCL has repeatedly maintained that they have not cut any more trees on site, a claim which has been contested hotly by activists. A comparison of photos of the Metro-3 carshed plot in Aarey, taken by Hindustan Times over the last week shows that a significant amount of green cover on the plot has since been cleared.

“This is a violation of a Supreme Court order barring further cutting of trees. The case will be heard by the Supreme Court in the next week. We are hoping that the violation will be recognised and that a stop work order will be given until various petitions pending before the SC are resolved,” said Omkar Babur, an Aarey resident.

Cassandra Nazareth, who volunteers with the Aarey Conservation Group and has been a regular at the Sunday gatherings said, “It is a complete misconstruction to say that we are against the metro, and therefore somehow against development and growth of the nation. Our protests are to save what little is left of Mumbai’s natural heritage. This would be easily possible if the carshed were shifted to Kanjurmarg.”

Prakash Bhoir, an adivasi leader and resident of Keltipada in Aarey Colony, who was present at Sunday’s protest, told Hindustan Times that Aarey’s tribal communities are planning an even bigger demonstration against the Metro-3 depot on August 9, which is observed globally as World Tribal Day. “Though we are joining other environmentalists in protests every weekend, we want to send a message purely from the perspective of indigenous people that such infrastructure development in our home will not be tolerated,” he said.