Sayaji Shinde appeals to save Sahyadri, launches nationwide campaign against pumped storage projects

Actor Sayaji Shinde made an emotional appeal to save the Sahyadri at a press conference in Nagpur on Monday. He said people should not celebrate Diwali while the Sahyadri is being set ablaze in the name of development. A nationwide campaign called "Save Sahyadri, No PSP in Sahyadri" was announced at the same event. The campaign has been launched from Nagpur, the geographical centre of India.

The organisers said the Sahyadri's rocks, mountain ranges and entire environment are under serious threat from destructive interference carried out in the name of development. "Save Sahyadri, Save Environment" is therefore not merely a campaign to protect the environment, they said, but a people's movement to preserve the balance of nature.

Shinde expressed concern while presenting figures on forests. According to him, 70 per cent of the country's forest was protected until 1947, but the figure has now fallen to just 16 to 18 per cent. He said countless rare species, such as the Shekru (Indian giant squirrel), are now on the verge of extinction. Anusuya Chhabrani, Anand Roy and Manish Bhave were also present at the press conference.

Citing Vidarbha, Shinde also raised a question. He said Vidarbha has been paying a heavy environmental price for coal mines and thermal power projects for several decades. Is it right, he asked, to force the Sahyadri to pay the price of the same development model? He demanded that the government find an environment-friendly alternative to the pumped storage project (PSP).

A "thali bajao" protest was also held on the issue at Samvidhan Chowk in Nagpur. It was organised by the Green Nagpur organisation under the "Save Sahyadri, Save Maharashtra" campaign. The protest is against the proposed pumped storage power project in the lap of the Sahyadri in Karjat taluka of Raigad district, for which trees are to be felled on a large scale.

Several other environmental organisations, including Cockroach Janta Party, Nagpur Citizens Forum and Wild Agile Foundation, extended full support to the protest.