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Green activists to get FIR registered over tree felling

After days of protests at the Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, to save trees on the premises of Civil Surgeon’s office, environmental activists today held an “antim ardas” for 20 axed trees. A Critical Care Centre (CCU) will come up on the...
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Environmental activists protest against the chopping of trees in Jalandhar. Photo :Malkiat Singh
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After days of protests at the Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, to save trees on the premises of Civil Surgeon’s office, environmental activists today held an “antim ardas” for 20 axed trees. A Critical Care Centre (CCU) will come up on the site.

The decks have already been cleared for the CCU amid repeated protests from the CS office employees for the past six months – unwilling to shift to the new makeshift offices. After the axing of the trees, the activists said today that they would file an FIR in the case.

Environment activists, doctors, traders from nearby markets and citizens sat at the site where the trees were felled and offered “antim ardas” (final prayers). Former employees of the Civil Hospital also joined in.

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Doctor and activist Navnet Bhullar said, “I’ve worked with architectural firms in Maharashtra which have made sustainable buildings in the middle of a forest preserving all trees on the site. Why couldn’t such sustainable firms be hired for the CCU. Trees are necessary for a healthy environment for patients as well.”

Airing the demands of activists, Bhullar said, “We will file a criminal complaint against the axing of these trees tomorrow. We demand that the tree Act be implemented in Punjab and an urban tree count be made in every city. Ludhiana is doing it. All trees be properly numbered and no tree be axed without the permission of civil society members.”

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Bhullar also said, “We got to know that the price of the axed trees was fixed for about Rs 1.5 lakh. This is a meagre amount.”

Former Civil Surgeon Dr Maninder Minhas said, “Such huge trees can’t be felled without the NGT’s permission. It’s not understandable how these were felled.”

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