Azad Maidan- Villagers from the Pandharwadi village are protesting at Azad Maidan against deforestation in their area.
These villagers had planted 25,000 trees under the guidance of actor Sayaji Shinde. However, three days ago, they say, some miscreants felled over 50 of the trees. “For the last two years, we have been planting trees in our village. Last year, four villages came together and planted 25,000 trees. Of these, nearly 60 trees have been cut down. We want police to take action against these people. Around 3 am, police arrested three persons,” said Subhash Maharaj Ghadge, a villager.
This tree plantation was done to promote the Maharashtra Jalyukt Shivar Project (the Water Conservation scheme, launched by the state government to make Maharashtra drought-free by 2019).