By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
When a tree is felled, a precious life is lost. But in the land of top environmentalists like Gaura Devi and Sunderlal Bahuguna of the Chipko Andolan fame, the fact of the matter is trees are literally pleading for mercy.
Despite strong protests, the state government is going ahead to allow the felling of thousands of trees in the hill state particularly in Dehradun mainly for road widening projects.
Lots of such stories about brutal killings of trees are also being heard in different areas of the country.
Recently, the Telangana government decided to clear the 100-acres green cover in Kancha Gachibowli area close to the University of Hyderabad (UoH), a move that triggered widespread protests in the state. The Supreme Court has already accorded a stay on the move.
Far away from Telangana, environmentalists, tree lovers, social activists and locals came together to mourn the felling of 400 trees along Hyder Ali Road near Mysuru in Karnataka. On Saturday evening, these people gathered around the axed trees to pay tributes and staged a candle light protest rally also.
In Sikar area of Rajasthan, tree lovers are protesting against the state government’s move to fell trees for constructing a petrol pump close to the district jail.
Despite these protests, the state governments refused to budge.
In Uttarakhand alone, thousands of trees have been felled mercilessly in the name of development ever since the hill state was carved out in the year 2000. And the sad story of trees felling is not ending as the government remains adamant to build infrastructure projects like new roads, highway widening, hydel and other infrastructure projects under the pressure of local people and politicians.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has made it clear that his priority is development while maintaining a balance between ecology and economy. But will there be any balance?
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