Bharat Van trees as irreplaceable as Taj Mahal

Bharat Van is an urban forest which has been a part of Nagpur city much before humans started settling here. A forest that slowly started shrinking due to urban developments but still keeps doing its most vital duty of giving us oxygen to breathe, protect wildlife and provide a shelter to them.
Many activities like illegal cutting of trees kept happening but the forest never complained. Now, did humans listen to its silent cries? The things that are available to us without a fight, we take them for granted and, sadly, the same is happening with Bharat Van today!

This forest, despite giving much more than it is supposed to give, is again facing extinction. All aware people have already stood ground to fight against it but more soldiers are required as this battle isn't easy. We are fighting against our own chosen ones. Urbanization and modernization has become so important for them that they are forgetting the reason for the fresh air they breath every morning.

There have been fake promises made to plant more trees and sapling. Has there been any data published how much has been done? A 70-80 year old tree will give 400-500 times more oxygen than a sapling. Ever considered that before killing a tree? There are 500 such huge trees in Bharat Van.

Opposing development is synonymous with siding with terrorism. Development is one of the most used political planks for elections and hence the one standing for development positions oneself as being a visionary.

Roads have become the flagbearers of development because they are quite literally visible in black and white. So anyone who opposes a road risks being seen as anti-development. So invisible powers can envision a road and lay it over almost anything under the definition of development. So one must pause and think what development really means.

Is development a visible process? Most people would intuitively feel the answer is yes. It is associated with structures built out of concrete, tar and steel. So 10 years later if a space is filled with the concrete stuff, we would have definitely developed, isn’t it?

Cutting of trees for widening or laying of roads is a largely accepted sacrifice. There are laid-down rules which allow cutting of trees for development if equivalent number of trees are planted elsewhere. It is another matter that what really happens to the replacement trees is hardly documented and no one is accountable if the trees don’t survive.

Would demolishing an old building to make way for road also amount to development? Quite likely. After all, it is said to be an old building and after all roads never do any bad. What if the old building is the Taj Mahal? Then the one asking this question is crazy because the Taj is irreplaceable for many reasons. Taj Mahal itself is an epitome of developed architecture which cannot ever be duplicated.

Then why aren’t the 150 years old trees? If we were to plant trees today there is a slim chance they would survive enough to take root themselves let alone survive 150 years. 150 years ago the year was 1869. It is the year when the Father of Nation was born. They have been witness to the changing fortunes of this country and during those 150 years those trees have toiled hard to give us oxygen, ensure timely rains, shelter to hundreds of generations of the birds and may be respite from the hot sun to one of our forefathers. They are no less important than the man-made Taj Mahal.

It is important to recognize that behind the garb of development comes the scheme of land grab. Roadsides clear ways for grand buildings and the value of the land increases manifold. Land brings wealth but to very few. So while you get the road, a politician or his relative gets the land. Think about it...who is driving the development and why ?

(Dr Ghosh is a moto-traveller and cardiac intensive care physician while Kumar is a wild life enthusiast with a passion for photography, conservation and travels)