Activists protest axing of heritage trees at CS office

Environmental activist Navneet Bhullar along with her colleagues and co-activists protest felling of over 20 trees in the compound of the erstwhile office of the Civil Surgeon, Jalandhar, where Critical Care Unit will come up.

Most of the trees have already been axed. The activists said they wouldn’t allow the remaining five trees to be cut. They have also written to the NGT.

“Trees are carbon sequesters, vital to biodiversity and are heat absorbers but today, on World Ozone Day, we see this carnage!” said a distraught Bhullar, a long time advocate for the ban on plastic.

The CS office premises had old mango, amaltas, jamun, neem, banyan and frangipani trees and the work on their cutting began about a week ago.

NGO Action Group Against Plastic Pollution (AGAPP) members Dr Pallavi Khanna, Dr Navneet Bhullar, Dr Pawandeep Singh, Dr Manmehak along with Khalsa College professors, social activist Tejaswi Minhas and youth leaders gathered to express shock at the “murder” of heritage trees.

Tejaswi said, “I have spoken with the Forest Department, which was asked to assess the trees. The PWD gave permission to cut these. But how can they? I’m approaching the National Green Tribunal today.”