Mysuru: Candlelight vigil, sapling rituals planned after 40 trees axed on Hyder Ali Road
Mysuru: Environmental activists in Mysuru have launched a protest campaign after nearly 40 fully-grown trees were felled along Hyder Ali Road. The felling has triggered criticism from environmental groups, who alleged that the operation was carried out without proper public consultation or adherence to legal procedures.
More than 110 individuals representing 12 organisations, including Parisara Balaga, Mysore Grahakara Parishat, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) – Mysuru unit, Team Mysuru Foundation, and Let’s Do It Mysuru, convened an emergency meeting at Cheluvamba Park on Monday. The group pledged to intensify efforts to protect the city’s green cover and formed a joint Struggle Committee to coordinate future actions.
As part of the protest, a candlelight vigil has been scheduled for April 18 along the stretch of road where the trees were removed. Additionally, the activists announced plans to hold symbolic "11th-day death rituals" for the trees by planting saplings at the same locations to honour the lives lost.
"Trees are living beings. Their loss must be mourned, and we must make people aware of the damage caused by such acts," said Parashurame Gowda of Parisara Balaga during the meeting.
Activists accused the Forest Department of failing to conduct a mandatory public hearing before allowing the felling. They claimed the authorities bypassed regulations by axing fewer than 50 trees at a time, thereby avoiding the requirement for public consultation under the law. Some speakers alleged that trees are often marked for removal in batches of 47 or 48 to sidestep legal scrutiny, even when a larger number is involved.
"There appears to be a clear understanding between the Forest Department, Public Works Department, and timber traders. This practice of staged tree-felling must be exposed and stopped," said one of the protestors.
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Five railway staffers injured as van headed to Rajdhani Express fire site overturns in MP
Ratlam (MP) (PTI): Five railway staffers were injured, one of them critically, when their van carrying repair equipment to the site of a Rajdhani Express fire overturned in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam district on Sunday, officials said.
The blaze erupted in an AC coach of the Delhi-bound Thiruvananthapuram-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express between Vikramgarh Alot and Lunirichha stations under the Kota division of the railways in Ratlam at 5.15 am.
It disrupted the movement of several trains on the Mumbai-Delhi route, as per the officials.
A van carrying necessary equipment to Alot overturned on the way when a cow suddenly strayed into the middle of the road, they said.
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Five railwaymen were injured, one of them critically, the officials said.
The incident took place when the van carrying essential equipment for overhead electric line repair, among other things, was on its way to Alot from Shyamnagar in Ratlam, West Central Railway's chief public relations officer Harshit Shrivastava told PTI.
The injured persons were rushed to the hospital and were subsequently referred to Kota in Rajasthan, officials said.
No casualties were reported in the train fire.
