Hundreds Of Punekars Take To Streets To Fight To Save City Rivers; Sonam Wangchuk, Sayaji Shinde Join

Hundreds of Punekars joined the protest in a ‘Chipko March’ in Pune to protest the felling of trees for the ambitious River Front Development (RFD) project. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and actor Sayaji Shinde also joined the protest.

The march started at 3:30 pm from Kalmadi High School in Baner (near Jupiter Hospital) to the Ram-Mula confluence. The activists and citizens walked the streets in protest, demanding the implementation of eco-friendly, sustainable river rejuvenation to make the river clean and safe.

The activists are accusing the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) of destroying natural greenery along the riverbank near Bund Garden in the name of its River Rejuvenation Project. The protesters will hug the trees along the riverbank while forming a human chain.

The riverfront development project in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad is being opposed by the Jeevitnadi-Living River Foundation and other NGOs, who say the proposal calls for the removal of trees and the disposal of waste in the riverbed.

Recently BJP MP Media Kulkarni had visited the project spot and raised doubts about the ongoing riverfront project.

The Mula-Mutha riverbank in Pune, spanning 44 km, is set to be beautified similarly to the Sabarmati River in Gujarat. Approved in 2018, the project costs ₹4,727 crore and will be completed in 11 phases. Three phases are currently in progress on a pilot basis. Phase one, costing ₹700 crore, is funded by the PMC, while the remaining expenses will be covered through a public-private partnership (PPP).

This is the second such huge march for the environmental cause in Pune. Earlier, Punekars had flocked to the streets to save Vetal Tekdi.