MUMBAI: The drama over cutting of trees in part of Mumbai's Aarey Colony for a proposed metro car shed shifted from the corridors of the Bombay High Court to the prominent green lung over Friday night, resulting into clashes between protesters and police who have arrested 29 persons on Saturday.
Some protesters have accused police personnel of high-handed behaviour. However, Mumbai Police have denied these allegations. Those arrested, including six women, are among the 60 people who were detained by police earlier, a police official said, adding that some of them are students.
The entire Aarey Colony was cordoned off by police on morning after hundreds of green activists tried to stop felling of trees in the area by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) for the Metro-3 line rake depot.
The MMRCL action began hours after the high court dismissed four petitions filed by NGOs and activists challenging the decision of Tree Authority of the Mumbai civic body to allow felling of trees.
Meanwhile, the police official said some protesters had beaten up the men in uniform on duty in Aarey Colony. "We have arrested 29 protesters. Six of them are women. Some of them had manhandled and beaten the police personnel deployed in Aarey Colony and obstructed them from discharging their duty," the official said.
On Friday night, around 200 people gathered and started protesting near Picnic Point in the colony, he said. "While the protests were on, a group of people roughed up two police personnel, who sustained injuries," he said.
A case has been registered under sections 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on complaint of a 28-year-old woman police constable who was injured in the alleged attack.
They have also been booked for violating Section 144 of CrPc (banning unlawful assembly) imposed in Aarey Colony and surrounding areas."All the arrested protesters were taken to court for remand," he said.
The official added the detained protesters were taken to Aarey, Vanrai and Dahisar police stations, where some of them are being released.
Meanwhile, one of the detained women alleged she and her aides were detained by police while they were protesting peacefully in the early hours of Saturday.Some alleged that the women protesters were manhandled by male police officers who bundled them into police vans.
However, Mumbai Police spokesperson has refuted the allegation of high-handedness by police as "false". "All due procedures and legally valid steps were taken while handling the situation," he said, adding that the situation is "peaceful" now.
All roads leading to Aarey colony were cordoned off by the police and work of axing the trees is going on in heavy police security. Opposition parties have slammed the ruling Sena-BJP alliance, stating they have failed to save the trees.
Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray criticised the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd for "slyly and swiftly" cutting down an ecosystem, which, he said, is "shameful and disgusting". The activists claimed that almost 200 trees have been cut so far.
Thackeray, who is contesting the October 21 assembly election from Worli, extended his support to the protesters.
"The vigour with which the Mumbai metro 3 is slyly and swiftly cutting down an ecosystem in Aarey is shameful and disgusting. How about posting these officials in POK giving them charge to destroy terror camps rather than trees?" he asked.
"A project that should be executed with pride, the Metro 3, @MumbaiMetro3 has to do it in the cover of the night, with shame, slyness and heavy cop cover. The project supposed to get Mumbai clean air, is hacking down a forest with a leopard, rusty-spotted cat and more," he tweeted.
Meanwhile, opposition NCP and Congress targeted the ruling Shiv Sena and BJP, saying that the saffron parties have failed to save trees in Aarey Colony.
In a veiled dig at Thackeray, the NCP asked where the "fake environment lovers" were when the tree felling began. "Where were fake environment lovers, who championed a ban on plastic, when the tree felling started?" Malik asked on the micro-blogging site, tagging Thackeray and the BJP.
Another NCP leader, Dhananjay Munde, also condemned the "slaughtering" of trees and accused the government of "muzzling" the voices of people. NCP MP Supriya Sule accused the government of taking "egoistic" stance and said it was expected of the Chief Minister's Office to instead come forward to save the lungs of Mumbai.
the orders are given to chop down trees for a metro shed in the ‘guise’ of development. @CMOMaharashtra it's time to protect the Lungs of Mumbai. #AareyForest Needs to be protected. (2/2)
The Congress asked the Shiv Sena if its alliance with the BJP was more important than saving trees. "This is the time @ShivSena. You are in the government, can stop this. The Mahayuti (mega alliance) is more important or the mega loss of trees?" Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant tweeted.
Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon said cutting the trees was "a violation of the model code of conduct". "The order was uploaded by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation only today, so it is deemed as an order today. They can't issue such orders when the code of conduct is in place," she told PTI.
One of the four pleas had sought that Aarey Colony be declared a forest and ecologically sensitive zone, while another petition had pleaded that it be given the status of a floodplain.