Residents protest proposed felling of 700+ trees for Kimadi-Mussoorie road widening

Dehradun: Hundreds of residents, environmentalists, and social activists in Dehradun protested against the proposed felling of over 700 trees for the widening of the Kimadi-Mussoorie route. The Paryavaran Bachao Andolan (save environment movement) was held in Dakra market at Garhi Cantt on the eve of World Environment Day, focusing on infrastructure projects in and around the city that threaten the fragile ecology of the valley. Protestors tied symbolic threads around the trees to protect them from being felled.“They want to cut down 700 trees to make way for a four-lane road that will funnel even more traffic toward an already overcrowded and overburdened Mussoorie. We are not only trying to protect the ecology of Dehradun but also that of Mussoorie, which is already straining under the burden of overtourism,” said Vijay Bhatt, an activist.Members of Citizens for Green Doon, an organisation actively working to safeguard the Doon Valley’s green cover, highlighted the government’s apathy toward environmental conservation in the region. “On one hand, authorities are giving the go-ahead to one project after another, sacrificing mature, old trees, and then they pretend to celebrate Environment Day by planting saplings. These saplings do not compensate for chopping down a fully grown tree. The protest on the eve of Environment Day aims to highlight this very irony and hypocrisy,” said Ira Chauhan, a member of the group.The agitation was held along the path of the proposed road widening at a rare heritage gharaat—a traditional water mill where cold-compressed flour is made using solely the kinetic energy of flowing streams. It requires no electricity, produces no pollution, and represents a living piece of Uttarakhand’s cultural and ecological heritage. “This project threatens not only hundreds of mature trees but also a precious link to our past. The gharaat was built 150 to 200 years ago. Once lost, it cannot be recreated,” said Mukesh Kulariya, who works at the mill.Activists pointed to rising temperatures, drying streams, flash floods, landslides, and extreme weather events, which they said have all alarmingly become the “new normal.” “However, the felling of even a single tree will not be tolerated now,” said Lokesh Ohri, founder of Been There Doon That.Former area councillor Vishnu Prasad said that residents had planted these trees roughly four decades ago. “We have held picnics under their shade and enjoyed the fruit they bore. For residents like us, these trees are a part of our day-to-day lives. We will not stand by and let them be chopped down. This is already a dry zone with severe water scarcity. Further loss of green cover and increased concretisation will only make it worse,” he said.Assurances by authorities to transplant the trees have also been rejected by the locals. “We saw what happened to the trees that were transplanted from Sahastradhara Road. They all died,” Prasad added.Ashish Garg from the EcoGroup Society has initiated an online petition to save the trees. “Authorities should first finalize the carrying capacity of Mussoorie and act on the recommendations of the expert committee before initiating the widening of this road or any other project that threatens the area’s ecology,” he said.Meanwhile, public works department (PWD) officials told TOI that the project does not involve a four-lane widening but rather a slight increase to the width of the existing route. The detailed project report (DPR) has been sent to the govt for approval. “Corner-cutting and strengthening work will be the priority, and it will be carried out with minimal ecological damage,” said superintending engineer OP Singh.