Mangalore: Citizens Put Up Placards Protesting Felling of Trees for Road Widening
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network—Mangalore (RS/CN)
Mangalore, Sep 3: Citizens from Valencia, Kankanady, and neighbouring areas, walked along the road removing median markings erected in the middle of the road as part of their non-violent protest against the Mangalore City Corporation’s (MCC) move to cut trees in order to widen the road here, on Wednesday September 2.
Eminent personality in the field of music Eric Ozario, Vidya Dinkar, convener of Citizens Forum, and its members, removed all the markings laid on the road from the gate of Fr Muller Hospital to St Joseph’s Church.
After the removal of all the markings, they decided to tie placards with green tapes on trees saying ‘We are with you; we will not allow you to be killed’. Ozario said that it was a move to assure the trees which are mute. “We are going to help the movement on Saturday September 5 at 6 pm, by gathering in large numbers and tying placards”, he added.
He said that it is a move by the public to save trees and a signal to the MCC that people will never allow trees to be cut down.
“This walk by the citizens of the area is to send a strong signal to the MCC for not removing the markings despite the assurance given by its advisor Dharmaraj at the meeting held on Tuesday”, Ozario said. “As per the assurance given on Wednesday morning, the markings should have been removed by the MCC officials”, he added.
P B D’Sa, district president, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), and residents of Kankanady and Valencia areas, were present at the meeting.