A Chipko-stylke protest in Punjab: Ludhiana locals join hands to save old trees

Time of India

7 days ago

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Ludhiana: In the heart of a bustling industrial city, a quiet, powerful protest bloomed on Sunday morning. With arms wrapped tightly around 35-year-old silver oaks in Shaheedi Park, the residents of Kidwai Nagar turned a patch of threatened greenery into a sanctuary of resistance — echoing the spirit of the
Chipko Movement
that once swept through India's forests.
Women, children, and elders gathered under the leafy canopy not to shout slogans, but to embrace the trees they've lived beside for decades. The protest was triggered by plans to fell the silver oaks to build an overhead water reservoir — a part of the ₹1,660 crore Surface Water Supply Project — despite the availability of alternative barren land nearby that would spare the park's precious ecosystem. "These trees are like family," said one tearful resident.
"They've stood by us for decades, filtering our air, cooling our homes. How can we let them fall without a fight?"
Environmental activist Gagnish Khurana, who joined the protest, called attention to the ecological crisis unfolding in Ludhiana's older neighbourhoods like Kidwai Nagar. "Parks make up less than 1% of the land here," he said. "Yet even that sliver of green is under threat. For even the most basic housing projects, 8% open space is considered essential."
Khurana also pointed to lapses in public procedure. "Based on the Punjab and Haryana high court directions, any such project requires prior public notice posted visibly in the park.
No such notice was issued. There was no consultation. They are bulldozing nature and due process."
Among the protesters was Vinod Kapoor, a longtime resident, who said the authorities concerned should reconsider the site and engage in transparent dialogue.
"We're not against development," he said. "But it must be development with roots, not at the cost of them." The silver oaks, now fully mature, take decades to grow and cannot simply be replaced overnight. "We gave these trees 35 years to become what they are. Cutting them is cutting through our own breath," said one participant.
Activist Kapil Arora of the Public Action Committee (PAC), a volunteer group of green thumbs, added that roughly 20% of the park had already been lost to encroachment by the municipal corporation, including residential quarters and an Aarogya Centre.
"All these constructions violate Supreme Court rulings," he said. "We have moved the National Green Tribunal (NGT), just as we did successfully for illegal buildings at Dholewal Chowk and Zone-D.
"
Despite the rising tension, Sunday's demonstration was peaceful — symbolic, yet poignant. It wasn't just a protest; it was a plea. A small community, holding fast to their trees, was reminding a rapidly developing city what it means to belong to the land — not just build on it. "If these trees fall, a part of us falls with them," said an elderly woman, arms still circling the rough bark of her favourite silver oak.
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