Another Chipko movement in Nepal to save trees in Kathmandu Thousands of trees along Kathmandu’s streets have fallen prey to the rapid road expansion drive underway in Nepal’s capital for over a year now. And if the authorities have their way nearly 1000 more are likely to be felled in coming weeks to expand the city’s Ring Road. All trees along the Koteshwar-Kalanki section of the road have been marked by the road department for felling in order to transform the road to an eight-lane highway with service lanes, bicycle tracks and footpaths to ease traffic congestion in the capital. Worried and disturbed at the proposal, campaigners from all walks of life in Kathmandu have been demonstrating and urging authorities to keep the green belt comprising mostly jacaranda and mimosa trees intact and transform it into a walking or cycling space for Kathmanduites. United under the banner of Chipko Nepal, the campaigners held another procession on Monday. Participants pledge to nurture a sapling each in their homes and plant them later along the Ring Road. “When the government itself loses its vision, citizens have to rise and show the way,” said a release issued by the group which claims to be inspired by the popular Chipko Movement that took place in Garhwal and Kumaon region of India in the 1970s. The protests by the group, which was formed in 2012 to stop mass-felling of trees in Kathmandu, have been peaceful till now. But if authorities don’t withdraw the decision to chop the trees, campaigners plan to chain themselves to the trees—-something like Chipko Movement when villagers, mostly women, hugged trees to protect them from being felled by forest contractors. The group, formerly known as Trees Liberation Army, have painted several trees on the stretch that have been marked for felling with slogans like ‘Save Me’ and ‘Let me Live’. They want an immediate stop to the ‘slaughter’ till better road plans are drawn up, intelligent road designs that have space for existing and new trees and an investigation into sale of wood from chopped trees. Though the campaign has been on since last year when authorities started demolishing houses and buildings and felled trees to expand the congested roads, it has failed to get adequate media attention. Better and bigger roads are required for an old city unable to bear the burden of nearly a million vehicles. And trees, which support many bird species, have become voiceless victims of that need. POSTED BY UTPAL PARASHAR ON TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013 AT 8:47 PM
Posted on: Sat, 08 Jun 2013 01:22:24 +0000
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