MAPUSA: For months environmentalists stood against cutting of six iconic mango trees located on NH 17 at Colvale. However, they were axed overnight and the village lost its historic beauty.
Sources claimed that the felling of trees was going on till 2 am on Tuesday. The logs of the trees were dumped at the local crematorium overnight.
The environmentalists had demanded that instead of cutting the trees, the highway be diverted.
Avartino Miranda of Goa Green Brigade said that the trees are chopped illegally. The highway contractor did not have permission to cut the trees. “By cutting the mango trees, the highway officials made a mockery of the law,” he lamented.
“These trees are 200 years old. We had requested the chief minister not to cut them. He had told us that he would not allow anyone even touch these trees. However, he took a U-turn. How can we trust such kind of CM? Our request was to protect these iconic trees as there is land available for diversion however just to safeguard some shops, 200 years old trees were axed,” he said.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the villagers were in support of felling of these trees. Locals who have shops on the roadside said that if the road is diverted their shops would be demolished which is their only source of income.
However, sources also claimed that these shops are illegal.
Local Prakash Korgankar said, “Before this, when around 25 mango trees were cut, no outsiders came to fight; but now for six trees, environmentalists are making an issue”
