Sayaji Shinde urges Karjat villagers not to give land for hydraulic project at Saidongar

Actor and environmentalist Sayaji Shinde has appealed to villagers of Pali Saidongar in Karjat not to give their land for the hydraulic project coming up there. He expressed confidence that if everyone stood together, he would take care of the rest. He made the remarks while interacting with local villagers at the Shiv temple in Saidongar.

Shinde has been voicing his displeasure for the past six months against the felling of forest for the Torrent project. He has now reached the site where the felling is under way, Saidongar in the Pali Kotwal Khalati gram panchayat. The Gramsavardhan Samiti of the Pali Kotwal Khalati gram panchayat welcomed him. Advocate Kailas More of the Karjat Paryavaran Bachav Samiti, Mahesh Bharti of the Sahyadri Bachav Samiti and former mayor Rajesh Lad were present at the event. A large number of local villagers also attended.

Addressing the villagers, Shinde recounted a memory from his own village. He said he too comes from a project-affected family. His land was acquired for a dam 40 years ago. For the next 30 years, talk of land being given in exchange continued. The land was given on paper but, in reality, has not been received to this day. For this reason, he said, they should not give away a piece of their own lives for a small plot of land.

Shinde said that villagers would now get Rs 20 lakh, but their land is worth crores. He asked the villagers whether they would sell their mother, since land is our mother. He said he had himself been scorched after giving up land for a dam, and had therefore come to caution the villagers. He said they should not give their land, and that how to drive this project out of here was something "we will see". He also assured the villagers that he is with them.

At the Shiv temple, environmentalist Rohidas Lobhi arrived dressed as Gadge Baba, the messenger of cleanliness. He performed a bharud and used it to urge villagers not to sell their land. He cited several examples, such as "trees and creepers are our kin, the creatures of the forest are our own too". He also voiced, in the bharud, his resolve to have the project removed from here. All the villagers joined the bharud performance by clapping.