‘Massacre is what this is’: Sharp reactions on felling trees at Aarey forest

The development came hours after the Bombay High court dismissed a couple of petitions challenging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s decision to allow felling of 2,185 trees.

A woman reacts as she touches a tree after it was cut down in the Aarey Colony. (Reuters)

As many as 29 people have been detained by the Mumbai Police in a crackdown over protestors calling for saving the Aarey forest. The development came hours after the Bombay High court dismissed a couple of petitions challenging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s decision to allow felling of 2,185 trees on Friday, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) moved to proceed with the felling amid massive protest by activists.

Section 144 was imposed in the area, following MMRCL’s late-night move. The protests were triggered over the administration’s decision to cut down over 2,646 trees for the construction of the metro car shed. Follow Aarey protests LIVE UPDATES Here

With the protest gaining momentum all over India,#SaveAarey,#AareyChipko and various other similar hashtags have been trending on Twitter. People have been criticising the government’s move on social media for granting permission to fell the trees.

Here are some of the sharp reactions on cutting down Aarey forest

Shame on you BJP#AareyForest #AareyAiKaNa #AareyColony pic.twitter.com/lSsMqMfJqH

— 7putezzz… (@Vaibhav7pute) October 4, 2019

Nehru: At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.

Modi: At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, #AareyForest will suffer death & destruction. #Aarey #AareyColony #AareyAiKaNa #BJPSenaBhagaoMumbaiBachao

— Suryanarayan Ganesh (@gsurya) October 4, 2019

Massacre is what this is! We are our own worst enemy! Infrastructure can never precede nature! We need to STOP! @karanjohar #ShutDownFilmCity #AareyAiKaNa pic.twitter.com/KFXmIsQMHm

— Dhaval Patel (@dhaval241086) October 5, 2019

A picture speaks thousands words.

PC: G Menon (FB) #Mumbai #AareyAiKaNa #SaveAarey pic.twitter.com/8ZQHNf8p0V

— Kanchan Srivastava (@Ms_Aflatoon) October 5, 2019

Karan Johar and Dia Mirza were among some of the celebrities who reacted to the news. Take a look at some more reactions:

In the cover of darkness the axe falls on our trees . RIP #AareyForest … we failed you . My heart breaks to know that by morning many proud erect trees will have fallen to human greed . pic.twitter.com/VJdnRl7o6c

— Onir (@IamOnir) October 4, 2019

Isn’t this illegal!?! This is happening at #Aarey right now. Why? How? @AUThackeray @mybmc @CMOMaharashtra @TOIIndiaNews @MumbaiMirror @fayedsouza @VishalDadlani @ShraddhaKapoor pic.twitter.com/V8IrO6M2dU

— Dia Mirza (@deespeak) October 4, 2019

We mourn the demise of 3000 trees at #AareyForest. It’s a sad day for all those who considered trees as part of their lives, who considered trees as one of d biggest gift of Nature God. MUMBAI will pay the price for this destruction and we will suffer helplessly. @ConserveAarey

— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) October 4, 2019

Young citizens detained. All nature lovers. Begging to protect our trees. This video is a cruel wake up call. Hope it stirs the inner recesses of your heart. You assured these old trees would be translocated. This is no way of cutting them for translocation!!! #AareyChipko pic.twitter.com/5HknJ2Jx9j

— Dia Mirza (@deespeak) October 5, 2019

Massacre is what this is! We are our own worst enemy! Infrastructure can never precede nature! We need to STOP! #SaveAarey

— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) October 5, 2019