PANJIM: The axing of some 200-year-old mango trees along the highway at Colvale led to some tense moments on Monday when activists and environmentalists made attempts to stop the authorities from continuing with the activity.
The group also had a verbal spat with another group of locals who claimed that the National Highway Authority of India, that is carrying out expansion of the highway, is armed with all the required permissions.
Tension arose when the authorities resumed work on Monday, a day after cutting down two mango trees. “NHAI has all the permissions to cut the remaining trees. It is for the purpose of development and we should not oppose it,” one of the locals said, while environmentalists claimed that deforestation is not in the interest of the people and the environment.
However, the authorities resumed their work of cutting six trees late on Monday evening.
The cutting of the trees had generated much controversy, as earlier this year locals had objected to their cutting. Former PWD minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar had then assured that the trees would not be cut.
