3 weeks ago
Congress Launches 'Protect Mumbai Trees' Campaign After Chembur Tragedy
In Mumbai, it rains a lot during the monsoon season, and some big trees have fallen down.
This is dangerous because trees can hurt people and cars.
A sad accident happened in Chembur where a falling tree hurt a school boy, and he passed away.
Because of this, the Congress party started a new campaign called 'Protect Mumbai Trees.'
They want people to check if trees have a little open dirt space around them.
There is a rule that every tree should have a space of one meter by one meter around its base.
When roads get covered with concrete, the space around trees often disappears, and the tree roots cannot breathe or grow.
The Congress party asks people to take photos of trees without this space and send them to the BMC, which is the city's civic body.
People can also share photos on Twitter with the hashtag #ProtectMumbaiTrees.
An activist named Godfrey Pimenta also found many trees with concrete around them on the Eastern Express Highway and warned that they could fall.
The Congress party launched the 'Protect Mumbai Trees' campaign, urging citizens to photograph and report trees lacking the mandatory 1x1 meter open space around their bases to the BMC.
The campaign follows rising tree falls this monsoon, including a Chembur accident that killed 11-year-old schoolboy Vihan Shrivastav after a tree weakened by road concretisation crashed down.
Congress spokesperson Sheetal Mhatre said the 1x1 meter space is part of BMC regulations and road concreting contract terms, but the rule is not being followed in many places.
Mhatre alleged payments are made for road work even when it remains incomplete, and called on citizens to tag the BMC on Twitter using the hashtag #ProtectMumbaiTrees.
Activist Godfrey Pimenta of Watchdog Foundation flagged similar violations along the Eastern Express Highway, warning that concrete-covered tree pits choke roots and make trees susceptible to uprooting.
- Who
- Congress party spokesperson Sheetal Mhatre, who launched the campaign, and activist Godfrey Pimenta of Watchdog Foundation, who flagged violations on the Eastern Express Highway; the campaign comes after the death of 11-year-old Vihan Shrivastav in Chembur.
- What
- A public campaign urging Mumbaikars to report trees with concretised bases that lack the mandatory 1x1 meter open space, with complaints to be filed with the BMC and shared on Twitter under #ProtectMumbaiTrees.
- Where
- Mumbai, particularly recently concretised roads and the Eastern Express Highway; the triggering accident occurred in Chembur.
- When
- During the current monsoon season, amid rising incidents of tree falls in Mumbai.
- Why
- To pressure the BMC to act against road concretisation that covers tree roots, which is alleged to have weakened trees and led to fatal falls like the Chembur tragedy.
Key facts
- Campaign name
- Protect Mumbai Trees
- Launched by
- Congress party (Mumbai)
- Required open space
- 1x1 meter around each tree base
- Triggering incident
- Tree fall in Chembur killing 11-year-old Vihan Shrivastav
- Citizen action urged
- Photograph violations and register complaints with BMC; tag BMC on Twitter
- Hashtag
- #ProtectMumbaiTrees
- Congress spokesperson
- Sheetal Mhatre
- Violations flagged at
- Eastern Express Highway, by Godfrey Pimenta of Watchdog Foundation
Quotes
Sheetal Mhatre
Congress spokesperson for Mumbai
“Providing a 1x1 meter space around trees is part of BMC regulations as well as the terms of road concreting contracts. Despite this, the rule is not being followed in many places.”
freepressjournal.in
Godfrey Pimenta
Trustee of the Watchdog Foundation and activist
“It has been observed that a large number of trees have been completely surrounded by cement concrete and paving, leaving little or no exposed soil around their trunks. The tree pits have either been drastically reduced in size or entirely covered with concrete, resulting in choking of the root zone and preventing proper aeration, water percolation and natural root expansion.”
freepressjournal.in
Sources
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