Aarey stir branches out to shaadi venue

MUMBAI: Caught in two minds over whether to forgo his Sunday activity of participating at the “Save Aarey” public rally for his wedding during the day, nature lover Mandeep Singh Bhamra and his bride Jaspreet Kaur did the next best thing. They held a demonstration at their wedding displaying pro-green and “Save Aarey“ posters.
The guests included fellow Aarey activists and they also held up “Save Aarey Forest” and “No Trees, No Lives” placards. In a light-hearted banter, they told the young couple they will “send them to Aarey Colony for their honeymoon”.
Among the baraatis was Tabrez Sayyed, who was earlier detained and charged by police for his demonstrations at Aarey. “For the past nine Sundays, the general public has been taking some time out of their busy lives to sincerely assemble at Birsa Munda Chowk (Picnic Point) at Aarey and urge the state government to save the Aarey forest by shifting out the Metro-3 car shed. It is admirable that Mandeep ensured that the Save Aarey campaign continued at this wedding on the ninth Sunday. This shows how strongly Mumbaikars feel for the lungs of Mumbai,” said Sayyed.
The groom said: “Since I have attended the Save Aarey demonstrations, I did not want to miss out on this important activity this Sunday too.”
Another campaigner, Archana Patel, said it was a typical Punjabi wedding at a gurdwara and later celebrated at a marriage hall. “However, what made it extraordinary was that he did not forget the citizens’ campaign for Aarey.”
Several activists gathered at Picnic Point on Sunday morning and held demonstrations to save the forest. NCP members were seen too, shouting slogans against the state government.
Members of the Bombay Catholic Sabha were present at Aarey, while another group of youngsters held a “Save Aarey Cycle Rally” inside Aarey Colony.