English हिन्दी
Connect with us

India News

Sunday protests to save Aarey trees continue

itizens protesting against the construction of Metro car shed in Aarey Forest formed a human chain for the fourth consecutive Sunday this week, September 22, The Hindu reported.

Published

on

Sunday protests to save Aarey trees

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Citizens protesting against the construction of Metro car shed in Aarey Forest formed a human chain for the fourth consecutive Sunday this week, September 22, The Hindu reported.  The crowd has considerably become thinner as compared to earlier weekends; however, the protests have now spread to multiple locations. Politicians like Sanjay Nirupam joined the protest carrying out a ‘chipko’ protest by hugging the trees.

“We only illustrated how the chipko movement is to be done. If the government still cuts the trees, we will show them the real chipko movement. We are ready to stand with the trees every time the need arises,” Nirupam said.

 “I would like to ask Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that if a forest with more than 4.5 lakh trees isn’t a forest, then is it Lokhandwala garden? I also request Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to visit Aarey once rather than merely speaking about the environment,” he added.

Also Read: Modi backing Trump in US poll campaign against India’s foreign policy, alleges Congress

According to reports, hundreds participated in the protest including children and senior citizens. People were heard shouting slogans such as ‘No car-shed or else no vote’.

Haridas Yadav, a protester from Young Indian Social Association, said, “The government and Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) are trying to confuse us with their statements. They are saying that Metro will reduce pollution from vehicle emissions but there has been no change in the pollution levels after the first Metro line which runs between Ghatkopar to Versova came.”

He said pollution had, in fact, increased since the first line started. “The Metro trains are fully air-conditioned which means the emission of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) will rise further. Also, there is a chance that more than 3,800 trees could be cut in this forest,” he added. 

A group of Mahul residents also protested stating that the refineries area has made it the worst place to live in the city. Pravin Haldankar, a resident, said, “The 17 refineries in Mahul have made it the highest polluted area in the city. The pollution created by the refineries results in one death per day. Aarey is a heaven and we do not wish to make it hell like Mahul.”

Also Read: World’s Oldest Travel firm and British travel giant Thomas Cook collapses, stranding hundreds of thousands

Anish Jaswani, Mumbai in-charge of Evolv, a youth movement platform, said, “None of the protesters is against the Metro, but we are against the way they are forcing the car shed into Aarey. Even if the car shed was to be made by cutting few numbers of trees, we would have supported it for the development motive, but such large number of trees cannot be felled for development.”

Aarey colony, located to the south of Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park, is a 1,300-hectare forested expanse widely described as the city’s last remaining “green lung”. It is home to 27 Adivasi villages, at least nine leopards and nearly five lakh trees.

In 2015, city authorities and the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation announced a plan to clear 30 hectares of Aarey colony to build a car shed for the Mumbai Metro 3 line that is currently under construction. Four years and multiple legal challenges later, the municipal corporation’s Tree Authority committee on August 30 approved a proposal to cut down 2,702 trees in Aarey colony to make way for the metro car shed.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Lok Sabha elections 2024: 102-year-old man walks to polling booth to cast his vote in Jammu

The lowest voter turnout so far was noted in Ramgarh at 1.53%.

Published

on

A 102-year-old man showed up at a Jammu polling place to cast his vote in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday. Haji Karam Din arrived at the Reasi district polling place in the Jammu constituency with a walking stick in hand and a family member who assisted him with the pre-voting process.

Haji Karam Din, who is 102-year-old, showed his inked finger and posed for pictures outside the polling booth after casting his vote. He said voting at this polling place at this age makes him very happy. He has always cast his vote. Even at the age of 102, this experience is still ongoing, he said.

Reasi district is a part of the Jammu parliamentary constituency, and 22 candidates are up for vote with around 17.81 lakh eligible voters.

BJP’s sitting member Jugal Kishore Sharma is aiming for a third term in office following wins in the elections of 2014 and 2019. Former minister and Congress candidate Raman Bhalla is his main opponent.

Voting in the Jammu-Reasi Lok Sabha constituency began with eager voters showing up at the polling places. Some of them were wearing traditional Dogra attire.

In 2,416 polling places around the constituency, voting got underway at 7 a.m., and 10.39% of the total votes were cast by 9 a.m. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Jammu recorded a 74% voter turnout.

Following the repeal of Article 370 and the division of the former state into two Union Territories five years ago, this is Jammu’s first significant election.

The Akhnoor segment received the highest percentage of votes, 14.24%, followed by Reasi (14.13%), Gulabgarh (13.53%), Shri Mata Vaishnodevi (12.71%), Marh (12.31%), Samba (8.56%), R S Pura Jammu South (8.17%), and Suchetgarh (5.67%), according to the officials. Ramgarh recorded the lowest voter participation of 1.53% so far.

Low attendance was observed in the border areas of the districts of Jammu and Samba till nine in the morning, according to poll data.

The officials said that big lines of voters were observed at several polling places throughout Jammu city. Voters were observed heading towards polling places early in the morning.

Continue Reading

India News

Salman Khan house firing case: NIA interrogates arrested shooters Sagar Pal, Vicky Gupta for three hours

Published

on

The investigation into the shocking firing incident that took place outside Salman Khan’s house on April 14 keeps bringing new updates with every passing day. In this case, Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta, the two suspected shooters, have already been taken into custody.

The two shooters have reportedly been questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), according to a new development. Every day that goes by, more information is revealed about the inquiry into the shocking firing incident that happened outside Salman Khan’s house on April 14. Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta, the two accused shooters, are being held in custody after their first arrests.

It was recently discovered that the two shooters were questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

NIA has reportedly begun questioning Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta, who were detained a few days ago for firing openly outside Salman Khan’s Galaxy Apartments in Mumbai, according to a recent update posted on their X (Twitter) account. NIA has interrogated shooters Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, arrested in the firing case, the tweet said.

According to the reports, two Punjabi residents were taken into custody by the Mumbai Crime Branch yesterday on suspicion of being involved in the recent shooting incident outside the house of Bollywood actor Salman Khan.

The two men, Sonu Subhash Chander and Anuj Thapan, provided guns to Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta, the shooters, according to information released by the Mumbai Crime Branch. It was also reported that they had communication with the Bishnoi gang. For those who don’t know, hours after the incident, Anmol Bishnoi, the brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, allegedly took credit for the firing in a Facebook post.

The shooters’ custody has been extended by Mumbai’s Esplanade Court until April 29.

Meanwhile, on the workfront Salman Khan was last seen in Tiger 3 alongside Katrina Kaif.

Continue Reading

2024 Lok Sabha Elections

PM Modi calls for high voter turnout in second phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024, says your vote is your voice

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urges citizens to participate in record numbers during the second phase of polling for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

Published

on

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to social media as the second phase of voting for the Lok Sabha Elections of 2024 got underway across the country to encourage voters to cast votes in huge numbers. PM Modi emphasized in his speech the value of voting in preserving democracy and notably urged women and young people to cast votes.

Taking to social media X, formerly Twitter, PM Modi wrote, urging everyone in constituencies to participate in record numbers in today’s second phase of the Lok Sabha elections. He said our democracy is strengthened by high voter turnout. He especially urged female and youth voters to cast votes in large numbers. Your vote is your voice, he added.

It is important to remember that 88 Lok Sabha constituencies—spread among 13 states and Union Territories—are presently holding polls. Twenty seats in Kerala, fourteen in Karnataka, thirteen in Rajasthan, eight in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, six in Madhya Pradesh, five in Assam and Bihar, three in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one in each of Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir, and Manipur are currently up for election. Notably, the untimely death of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate has resulted in the Madhya Pradesh constituency of Betul being spared from voting on April 26.

Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar emphasized the thorough planning that has taken place over the previous two years and reassured the public of careful security measures at every voting place. They have been preparing for the last two years, he said. At each booth, the arrangements are ready. Everything has been prepared for the voters, including fans and drinking water. Voters must turn out to cast their votes. Safety has been considered. There is zero information available anywhere regarding violence. However, there will be forces at every booth.

Continue Reading

Trending

-->

© Copyright 2022 APNLIVE.com