Jarange Patil inspects felled forest at Karjat, warns govt over Torrent dam project

The Torrent dam project has drawn criticism of the government across the state, while the Chief Minister and the ruling side appear to be defending it. Against this backdrop, Maratha Sangharsh Yodha Manoj Jarange Patil inspected the felled forest at Sayadongar in Pali Tarfe Kotwal Khalati, Karjat. He sharply criticised the government while speaking to local residents there.

Jarange Patil reached Karjat in the morning from Ahilyanagar and was given a warm welcome. After paying tribute to the statue of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, he went to Pali Sayadongar. Office-bearers of the Karjat Sakal Maratha Samaj accompanied him.

After seeing the felled forest, Jarange Patil said that if the government wants to pursue eco-friendly development, it should come here, speak to local farmers and tribal people, and understand their views. He also said the Prime Minister should stop striking at the people and taking them for granted.

Jarange Patil said the Chief Minister should listen to the fact that the locals do not want the trees cut. He said that if the people do not want the project, it should be moved elsewhere. His demand is that the plan to destroy the forest be cancelled and the plan to ruin the Sahyadri be shifted away from there. He publicly promised that if this did not happen, he would stand shoulder to shoulder with the people here and, if needed, bring the whole of Maharashtra to the spot.

Jarange Patil said the soil of Maharashtra has the strength to ruin those who take the contract to destroy the Sahyadri. He appealed to the ruling side not to test the patience of those who love Maharashtra. Mocking the Chief Minister's eco-friendly project, he said the Chief Minister would now have to be given a lawyer's licence. He also asked that if the Chief Minister is regarded as an expert and clever, why he cannot see the Sahyadri being destroyed. He warned that nature lovers would show leaders who destroy the Sahyadri their place through the ballot box.

Jarange Patil said: "We are not doing politics; the government should not do politics either." He asked whether the government had taken a contract to destroy the environment by planting trees and cutting old ones. He warned: "Who gave you this right? The Sahyadri will not forgive you." He asked the Chief Minister whether felling trees does not cause pollution, when 33 crore trees are to be planted for clean natural air.

Mocking the Chief Minister's statement about planting 33 crore trees, Jarange Patil said that 100 to 200-year-old trees are being cut while "Vrikshavalli amha soyari vanchare" is recited, and asked who their real kin are. He called on the government to first declare that Tata and Adani are their kin. Calling "plant trees, save trees" a way for the government to fool the people, he said the government should stop this and act according to the wishes of the people.