Tags:
Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, June 18: An almond tree8217;s growth was halted by a court order after an advertising firm pleaded it would block the view of its prime hoarding in Worli.
Planted and tended by policeman Parshuram Mate, the tree stands at the Acharya Atre chowk in Worli, a mute testimony to the order passed in 1989, restraining its height to a mere 13 feet. An iron mesh ensures the priority of the hoarders8217; interests.
Mate, now the head constable of Mahim police station, planted the sapling while he was posted at Worli. He was offered a price by the advertising firm Roshan publicity to allow the tree to be chopped down.
Since Mate would hear none of it, the company had to plead with the court to restrain the tree. They argued the hoarding had been around longer than the tree. However, till today, the head constable considers the tree his 8220;child.8221;
Even the bust of Acharya Atre partly blocks the view of the same hoarding. So will the advertising company run to the courts once again. 8220;Unlikely, for busts do not grow,8221; a shop-owner in the vicinity quipped.
H N Umriger, owner of the petrol pump in front of which the tree stands, said that the hoarding has been there for a long time. 8220;Save the tree not the hoarding,8221; he said. The hoarding exists on municipal land in a municipal colony compound next to the petrol pump. And for all its slogan shouting about Green Mumbai,8217; the civic administration probably preferred substantial income such hoardings generate to allowing more greenery.
8220;The hoarding is proving to be an obstacle to us. We cannot raise another floor to the petrol pump,8221; said Umriger who also maintains the police chowkie. The tree had an unusual visitor in Minister for Transport Pramod Navalkar yesterday who showed an interest in its plight and is likely to take up its cause.
