Sadhugram at the cost of nature

If even some of the 1,700 to 1,800 trees of Tapovan in Nashik remain standing after the plans to construct Sadhugram (village of monks) for the Simhasta Kumbha Mela 2026-27 are implemented, they will have the enraged people of the city to thank.

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For the past two weeks, citizens of Nashik, supported by environmentalists and activists from across Maharashtra, have employed all the methods at their command to draw attention to the mindless massacre of thousands of trees, some of them old and treasured, to make the ‘village’. The Tapovan forest, along the Godavari River, is not only the heartbeat of the rapidly expanding city of Nashik but also carries the ancient mythological imprint of having held Lord Ram, Sita, and Lakshman in its bosom on their way to the 14-year-long exile.