Noida: Women and men standing round bushes, hugging them, holding one another’s arms — a scene paying homage to the 1973 Chipko motion spearheaded by Garhwali environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli, got here to life on the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) flyway on Sunday as a bunch of surroundings fanatics gathered to save lots of the uprooted bushes mendacity at a number of locations on the aerial highway.
9 neem bushes, all lush and inexperienced, fell just a few months again following bouts of heavy rainfall in September-October final yr. Since then, the bushes haven't been mendacity deserted on the DND, although not totally unnoticed. Over the previous few months, a number of commuters have taken to social media to flag the matter, however with little luck.
Noida resident Brajesh Sharma, who was among the many 14 to fifteen folks to assemble on the DND to protest towards the month-long neglect, advised TOI that up to now on 9 neem bushes had been uprooted, however the persevering with apathy of the authorities involved might result in extra such incidents. “These 9 bushes should be protected, their roots lined with soil. All different bushes on the boulevard are additionally at excessive danger of getting broken,” he mentioned.
On flyways, Sharma added, it's the bushes that play an vital position in decreasing air air pollution. “But when bushes will not be protected, and left to rot, then how will they defend us? We hugged the bushes at present whereas holding placards citing ‘Save bushes’ to create consciousness amongst commuters and the authorities to get up and do the needful,” he added.
Environmentalist Dr J Pranab mentioned the situation of the soil on the DND flyway was not good. “It lacks vitamin. This space is suffering from plastic waste, which can additional curtail the expansion of bushes. If a tree is disadvantaged of vitamins, water and a conducive surroundings, they may wilt or fall simply.”
In line with the protesters, concrete constructions or cement pathways have been positioned very close to the roots of the bushes on the flyway. “On one aspect there's a drain and on the opposite a freeway, so there may be not a lot room left for the bushes to develop,” Pranab mentioned.
When approached, DND upkeep supervisor Dhirendra Singh mentioned, “We are going to do the needful and test what must be executed for the bushes on the flyway. We are going to ensure these bushes don’t fall.”