Congress backs Delhi’s residents, launches ‘Save the Tree’ campaign

Congress on Tuesday launched the “Save the Tree” campaign in Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar, taking a stand against the chopping off of thousands of trees in the National Capital to expand government housing facilities and create commercial infrastructure.

Congress leader and daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, Sharmishtha Mukherjee, joined the protests organised by Mahila Congress.

Despite Delhi being one of the most polluted cities in the world and its residents being advised both by the doctors and government notifications to stay put in their houses due to pollution, Centre decided to cut 16,500 trees to construct houses for government staff. Opposing the move, more than 1,500 people joined the public protests against the cutting down of trees on Sunday, reported Hindustan Times.

The protests from Delhiites drew inspiration from the famous ‘Chipko movement’ of 1973, when people came out in numbers in Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand) and hugged the trees in order to save them from being chopped off. The 1973 protests had drawn their inspiration from the sacrifice by the Bishnoi people in 1730 AD, when Amrita Devi and 362 others sacrificed their lives to save the Khejri trees in Khejrali village from soldiers of the Jodhpur king, who had ordered to bring wood of Khejri trees to construct a new palace.

As the word of protests by Delhi residents spread through social media and more and more people joined in, the Delhi High Court intervened and ordered a stay on felling of trees in the Capital till July 4.