Deepika Pasham
Hyderabad
A resident of Warangal, Prakash, has reached Uppal by walk from Warangal for creating awareness to stop felling of trees in Telangana.
The tree felling in Chevella has made him walk from Warangal to Manneguda and this he started on January 2. He will reach Manneguda by January 8. “The reason why I have chosen to go on a padayatra is to create awareness not just about Chevvela or Hyderabad. My idea is to create a consciousness among people that we need to protect nature to save future,” said Prakash.
A group of Green activists in this journey along with Prakash complained that Minister KT Rama Rao and MP Santosh were not available to talk to them to save felling of trees.
The minister and the MP are very active on the social media, who have started a challenge in planting saplings. However, they have rejected to give an appointment to the Green activists. “We tried through various sources for an appointment, and our tweets also have no response.”
“The real problem is we have filed a petition with the National Green Tribunal and technically National Highways Authority of India cannot do anything about cutting down trees or translocating them. The undergrowth is being cleared, buildings are being shifted but NHAI blames other organisations.
Telangana has the maximum number of saplings planted in a year but it also a state which gives more number of orders for tree-felling in a year.
The forest department agrees with the green Activists that translocation doesn’t work. Saplings must survive and not only planted but there is big disconnect in what they do,” said Natasha Ramarathnam, a Green activist.
“Nobody has approached us or asked why we are writing on the issue. Why are environmentalists walking for tree felling in Telangana? We keep tagging Minister KTR, MP Santhosh Kumar as the latter started a new green challenge. Each of us individually quoted him saying that planting is important but there are hundreds of old trees which are our treasure and heritage. Forget about the minister’s proactively interacting with us, he has not even responded to our rrequest for a meeting. We are now only fighting in the court,” added Natasha.
Prakash’s walkathon was flagged of at Warangal. It will reach Bhongir on the third day along with a group of cyclists. On Friday, Nizam College students joined Prakash and said, “To save 800 Banyan trees and 1,000 other trees from getting chopped off, Prakash has started the padayatra from Warangal to Chevvela.
