Thursday, 20 June 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Citizens For Green Doon (CFGD) will organise a peace walk on June 23 in Dehradun with the aim of raising awareness among the government and residents about rampant felling of trees for development purposes. The peace walk will commence at 7 am from Dilaram Chowk and culminate at Centrio Mall. Local residents, as well as members of CFGD, will participate in the event.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, the president of CFGD, Himanshu Arora flagged deep concern over the alarming surge in temperatures across the State this year compared to previous years. He attributed the mercury surge in Dehradun to the rampant felling of trees for the city’s development.
Emphasizing that tree felling fails to contribute to city development while leaving an adverse impact on the environment, he said that collective and peaceful movement to stop these reckless acts is an imperative.
“Following the proposal to cut down over 2000 trees for the construction of a Water Treatment Plant (WTP) at Khalanga, we are deeply worried. Besides, the proposal to fell 240 trees for a four-lane road from Dilaram Chowk to Centrio Mall and beyond adds to our concern. Additionally, there have been reports of felling of over 5000 Sal trees for the construction of the Asharodi-Jahjra four-lane highway and even more trees are to be felled for the Ballupur-Ponta Sahib highway project. These have resulted in the temperature in Dehradun crossing 43 degrees Celsius mark repeatedly besides generating increased air and noise pollution, water shortage, improperly managed garbage and acute traffic congestion. These are gravely impacting the life of local residents. To address these issues and prevent further tree felling for upcoming projects in Dehradun, a peace walk will be organised on June 23 under the banner of Paryavaran Bachao Andolan. This walk as part of an environment protection movement is meant to draw attention to the fast deteriorating environmental conditions in the Doon Valley and its effect on the common citizens,” he said.
He further mentioned that they would submit a memorandum to the chief minister on June 23, demanding an immediate halt to tree felling for urban development which is having a detrimental impact on the city’s environment.
