'Sometimes Destruction Becomes Inevitable': Mumbai Metro Defends Aarey Move

With many protesting its move to cut thousands of trees in Aarey Colony for a new car shed, Mumbai Metro on Sunday defended the move calling it 'inevitable'. Mumbai Metro chief Ashwini Bhide sent out a tweet saying "sometimes to construct something new destruction becomes inevitable but it also paves the way for new life and new creation."

She quote tweeted another tweet by Mumbai Metro's official handle claiming to have planted arnd 24,000 trees across Mumbai including Aarey.

Sometimes to construct something new destruction becomes inevitable but it also paves the way for new life and new creation. जीवन चक्र प्रवाही असते. ते एका ठिकाणी थांबत नाही. सृजनाची चाहूल पुन्हा पुन्हा लागत रहाते. नवीन पालवी फुटत रहाते. नवनिर्मिती होत रहाते. https://t.co/L6J1N57mhH

— Ashwini Bhide (@AshwiniBhide) October 6, 2019

Protests had intensified over felling of over 2,500 trees in Mumbai's Aarey Colony on Friday night and Saturday, leading to the arrests of 29 people. The felling of trees continued on Sunday with the full process expected to be completed by evening.

Meanwhile, a student delegation will try to meet the Chief Justice of India  Ranjan Gogoi at his residence around 3 pm on Sunday. It is expected to asl him to exercise his special jurisdiction and go out of conventional way for stay on felling of trees in Aarey.

The delegation believes that there is no time for filing an appeal petition and going through legal technicalities, as by then the trees would be cleared off by authorities.

Nearly 1,500 trees were chopped on day one of felling as activists failed to stop officials from carrying out the high court's orders. Police imposed Section 144 CrPC in Aarey, restricting movements and gathering of groups, and cordoned off the area. On Saturday, a bench refused to interfere with the Bombay High Court order that was issued on Friday.