We The Power

People’s movements to protect the environment are making major strides from Kashmir to Kerala

- Vineetha Mokkil

ON a crisp, sunny morning last month, a crowd gathered at Dilaram Chowk in Dehradun. Students, senior citizens, working professionals, homemakers, activists-all galvanised by a common cause-to save the trees in their hometown. Nestled at the foothills of the Himalayas, green canopies used to be a given in Dehradun. But the ecosystem of Uttarakhand's capital is in danger due to excessive felling of trees and rampant construction. Acutely aware of this, the protestors at Rajpur Road went on a 2 km march. They were opposing a road-widening plan that would involve axing 240 trees, including one that had been part of the landscape for 250 years. Not long after the march, the administration announced that it was dumping the roadwidening plan. Public sentiment had won the battle.

People's movements-from Kashmir to Kerala-are making strides. Volunteer-led efforts such as the Save Aravali Trust in Haryana whose members plant trees in the Aravalis that are ravaged by deforestation and mining; the Save Mollem movement in Goa, launched by citizens to protect Mollem National Park and Bhagvan Mahaveer Sanctuary from the fallout of massive infrastructural projects; and the Kali Bein river clean-up in Punjab by the locals are just a few examples. Veteran anti-mining activist from Odisha, Prafulla Samantara, says people's movements are "inevitable" at a time when the majority of politicians serve corporate interests at the cost of common people. These movements give vulnerable communities-Adivasis, Dalits, struggling farmers-the courage to assert their rights over natural resources.