The Environment Vote Matters
Updated On: 20 May, 2024 06:52 AM IST | Mumbai | Fiona Fernandez
The abbreviation of the headline would read EVM—the most talked about machine in the ongoing general elections. However, in Mumbai’s case it’s to reiterate how much is at stake when it comes to saving our green cover
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The Views. That’s the name of the ‘township’ that is currently under construction right beside the site where last Monday’s horrific hoarding collapse occurred that claimed the lives of unsuspecting citizens. I wonder what ‘view’ the builder had in mind while planning the name in the first place because, it’s a typical urban jungle whichever way you wish to see it—the highway, concrete structures, slum clusters and traffic zooming past at all hours. There’s very little else, no matter how optimistic one wishes to be while looking out from the window of the sample flat. As facts and figures emerged from the tragedy, we also learnt that trees were poisoned to clear the ‘view’ for this particular killer hoarding. The trees, once again, had to pay the price for the cost of crass commercial interests. Coincidental or otherwise that the name of the company is called Ego Media. It doesn’t get more Kafkaesque.
Years ago, I recall a similar scenario where environmentalists and city lovers were faced with a similar bit of grim news. A certain swanky store had opened its doors in SoBo where, overnight, it was noticed how massive trees lost their foliage; once again, murmurs were heard that ‘the view’ was important in the overall scheme of things. The cries went hoarse, and as with such cases, they also died down eventually, for lack of support. Today, happy shoppers pass by these half-dead survivors before hopping into their swish cars, unaware or oblivious of this dark backstory.
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