TOI readers warn govt of gloomy future without trees

HYDERABAD: Citizens of Hyderabad will not pardon the state government if it indeed decides to pick up the axe and mercilessly chop as many as 3,000 trees just to lay a multilevel network of roads! That's what readers of The Times of India made amply clear through their barrage of emails ­ most of them crying foul over the execution of an ill-designed MUR Strategic Road Development Project (SRDP).
“In the guise of development, non-visionaries have destroyed the city,“ states an aggrieved R K Atchutuni, reminiscing the old `green' days of Hyderabad where “winters used to be like in any other hill station“.
Cautioning authorities of a `petrifying, gloomy future' and difficult times ahead if this wayward trend of development continues, Manasi Mittal was one among many who suggested razing concrete structures instead of `flattening thousands of trees in the name of modernization'.
“The roads and other development projects can wait.I request that the felling of trees be halted and the government looks for alternative measures to address the transport issue. Let us work towards sustainable development. We belong to the earth, the earth doesn't belong to us,“ said Mittal.
A clearly disillusioned Rahchand R accused the state government of “promoting its own business interests“ in the name of development while turning a blind eye to illegal activities such as “land grabbing, polluting lakes“. “The government and GHMC think development means building infrastructure and malls.What they choose to ignore are the basic necessities of a society -drinking water, proper drainage, waste management, recycling and overall equality of life. Plants take years to become trees. Cutting them is equivalent to slaughtering life,“ he stated.
While welcoming the government's decision to consider designing an effective decongestion plan for clogged city roads, Ujjwal Mazumder described the government's approach as `insensitive', especially at a time when the green cover across Hyderabad has dipped to a new low.
“It's frustrating to see that any government can be so insensitive to such sensitive matters. It is for the government to figure out, with help from experts, how the city could be declogged. But chopping trees to address transportation issues is one option that they must stay away from,“ asserted Mazumder.
Sandhya Yellapantula, who feels the government's proposal to axe over 3,000 trees is `thoughtless' and akin to `brutal murder', urged citizens to `wake up' and join hands in protecting and expanding the city's green cover.
YOUR VIEWS MATTER
Is the state government's proposal to axe over 3,000 trees in the name of development justified? Write in to us at: sayitloud.toi@ gmail.com with your views and suggestions about protecting Hyderabad's green cover