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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'Go back to your own country': Indian-origin taxi driver attacked in Dublin
London, Aug 5 (PTI): An Indian-origin taxi driver based in Ireland for over 23 years has become the latest to be targeted in an unprovoked attack in the capital Dublin, with local police (Gardai) launching an investigation into the violent assault.
Lakhvir Singh, in his 40s, told local media that he picked up two young men in their 20s on Friday night and dropped them at Poppintree, in the Ballymun suburb of Dublin.
Upon arriving at the destination, the men are said to have opened the vehicle door and struck him twice on the head with a bottle. As the suspects fled, they reportedly shouted: "Go back to your own country".
"In 10 years I've never seen anything like this happen," Singh told ‘Dublin Live’.
"I'm really scared now and I'm off the road at the moment. It will be very hard to go back. My children are really scared," he said.
A Dublin police spokesperson said Singh was taken to the city's Beaumont Hospital with injuries determined as not life-threatening.
"Gardaí are investigating an assault reported to have occurred in Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11 at approximately 11:45 pm on Friday, 1st August 2025. A man, aged in his 40s, was brought to Beaumont Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injury. Investigations are ongoing," the spokesperson said.
The incident followed an Indian Embassy advisory, also issued on Friday, expressing safety concerns following recent attacks in and around the capital Dublin and urging Indian citizens to take safety precautions.
"There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently,” states the advisory.
“The embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned in Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially at odd hours," the statement reads, adding emergency embassy contact details as 0899423734 and cons.dublin@mea.gov.in.
It came in the wake of a brutal attack on a 40-year-old Indian man at Parkhill Road in the Tallaght suburb of Dublin on July 19, described as “mindless, racist violence” by locals.
The Gardai had opened an investigation into the case and Indian Ambassador to Ireland Akhilesh Mishra was among those who took to social media to express shock over the attack.
“Regarding the recent incident of physical attack on an Indian national that happened in Tallaght, Dublin, the embassy is in touch with the victim and his family. All the requisite assistance is being offered. The embassy is also in touch with the relevant Irish authorities in this regard,” the embassy said in a social media post days after the incident.
A Stand Against Racism protest was also held by the local community in condemnation of what was described as a "vicious racist attack" and to express solidarity with migrants.
Last week, Dr Santosh Yadav took to LinkedIn to post details of a “brutal, unprovoked racist attack”.
The entrepreneur and AI expert stressed that it was not an isolated incident and called for “concrete measures” from the governments of Ireland and India to ensure Indians feel safe to walk the streets of Dublin.
His post revealed that a group of six teenagers attacked him from behind as he walked to his apartment in Dublin.
“This is not an isolated incident. Racist attacks on Indian men and other minorities are surging across Dublin — on buses, in housing estates, and on public streets. Yet, the government is silent. There is no action being taken against these perpetrators. They run free and are emboldened to attack again,” reads Yadav's post.
Fine Gael party Councillor for Tallaght South, Baby Pereppadan, was among those who expressed concern following last month’s attack.
“People need to understand that many Indian people moving to Ireland are here on work permits, to study and work in the healthcare sector or in IT and so on, providing critical skills,” he said.
Another violent anti-Indian attack in Ireland
— Journalist V (@OnTheNewsBeat) August 5, 2025
Taxi driver Lakhvir Singh was attacked with glass bottles while doing his job pic.twitter.com/mtkwhLWISx
