Few months back, a video went viral on social media displaying women waiting for the local train. The video can shake your conscience, as these women were risking their lives just to get on the train. A minor accident could have claimed hundreds of lives. The question, however, arises is that why did these women choose to push themselves into danger? Why did they have to suffer to travel for a few kilometres? Well, the answer is clear. Former CM of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray denied Mumbaikars of metro as the Shiv Sena, fake environmentalists and Bollywood did not want the Aarey project to continue.
Mumbai is starving for space and all thanks to the anti-BJP lobby
Back till 1980s, transportation was not a big problem in Mumbai. It came into existence after the discontinuation of trams was witnessed, which led to the direct increase of passenger pressure on the suburban railway networks. The population of Mumbai doubled till 2010. Thus appeared the need for Mumbai Metro.
Mumbaikars, however, are still striving for the metro because the MVA government had decided to shift the car depot from Aarey over ‘environmental concerns’. A massive misinformation campaign, on the construction of a metro car depot in Aarey colony of Mumbai, had gripped social media. Involved in this campaign were several hypocritical Bollywood celebrities, politicians and so-called intellectuals.
#WATCH | Mumbai: Protests underway in Aarey, Goregaon against metro car shed.
The newly formed Maharashtra government has directed the Advocate General that the metro car shed be built in Mumbai's Aarey colony itself. pic.twitter.com/XJ6Yr76atI
— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2022
Protest against Aarey is nothing new
Although Mumbai needs a major overhaul to accommodate the transport needs of the people of the city, the opposition to the construction of a metrocar shed was witnessed in 2019 too. The opposition against Aarey had unveiled the hypocrisy of many Bollywood celebrities and politicians. Be it Shiv Sena, the Congress party, Bollywood and fake environmentalists, everyone joined the bandwagon to oppose the decision to construct a metro shed at Aarey. Earlier in 2019, the Supreme Court rejected all the malicious campaigns against the project and allowed the cutting of 2,700 trees stating that the benefits of the project outweighed the cost of cutting down the trees.
Metro Shed . Is welcome , just as long as we protect the wildlife (leopards and flora fauna ) around that forest area, with proper fencing, so that we don’t destroy and kill, but celebrate our humanity on this planet. https://t.co/R2iVTDILBW
— Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) July 2, 2022
India’s developmental story has faced several hurdles from environmentalists. They had also tried to stall the Char Dham project. However, the apex court came to the rescue and refused to intervene in the Defence ministry’s decision to widen the roads as a part of the Char Dham project.
Controversies around Aarey
As the BJP-Eknath Shinde alliance stormed to power in Maharashtra on June 30, the Aarey project is back on track. In its first decision, the new government made it clear that the Metro-3 car shed will be built in Mumbai’s Aarey colony itself.
Read more: With Shinde-Fadnavis Government in power, Aarey project back on track
In 2019, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis had said that the government is bound to cut trees in Mumbai’s Aarey forest area as “development is important”. But, the MVA government came into power and remained adamant on building it on a financially un-viable alternate route.
In the name of saving trees, they aimed to halt a metro rail project which is the need of the hour in Mumbai. Ironically, those involved in the protests live in the posh Royal Palms colony and work in the Film city near the Aarey Colony, which has been built by cutting thousands of trees. As far as the fake environmentalists and politicians are concerned, they are peddling their agenda under the garb of ‘saving the environment’.
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