A series of protests to be organised for the whole week

Protesters were holding placards with slogans to save trees written on them

Delhiites tied rakhis to the tress and pledged to save them

Celebs asked to join protest

Delhi’s version of the Chipko Movement

‘Don’t want to wear a mask with school uniform, so joined the protest’

Protesters in south Delhi joined hands to save Delhi’s lung

Protesting a proposal to cut 16,500 trees for the redevelopment of south Delhi, around 100 Delhiites gathered in Sarojini Nagar over the weekend. Candles forming the word ‘resist’ were lit at the venue, while the protesters stood with placards with slogans like ‘Mujhe Mat Maaro’, ‘Don’t cut down a life’, ‘NBCC ke log aaye ped kaatne mere gaon mein, thak kar baith gaye ped ki chhaon mein’ to save trees. The word spread like wildfire online, as many groups joined the protest , which is being held over several days, creating hashtags like #SaveDelhi #DelhiTreeSOS #SaveTreesSaveDelhi. While Gurugrammers have a reputation of coming together on to work for a community project, green activists say it needs a horror to bring Delhi together on the streets. And this time, the horror is smog.Candles forming the word 'Resist' were lit at the venueThe protest was organised under the banner of the ‘Delhi Trees SOS’ campaign and will continue for the next few days. Juhi, one of the founders of the group, said, “We have been organising protests for the last two days and we will be doing it for the entire week. We all are concerned about the environment, and so we are here, and anyone who feels for the cause has joined us. We went around in this area, hugging trees and tying rakhis to them, and we will continue doing it until the plan is dropped.” Locals and activists have also started their own version of the Chipko movement , and are hugging trees in Sarojini Nagar.Protesters were holding placards with slogans to save trees written on themDelhiites tied rakhis to the trees and pledged to save themA number of WhatsApp groups like ‘Save 16500’, ‘Delhi Blue Skies’, among others, have been formed to organise protests and discussions to stop the felling of trees. Stand-up comedian and environmentalist Vasu Primlani is also going to organise another protest at the same venue on June 29 for the cause. Activists have also contacted Delhi celebs like Adil Hussain and Swara Bhasker , and have asked them to appeal to the government to take back the decision.Prerna Prasad, one of the volunteers, said, “When I read the news about the proposal to cut trees for development, I thought that we need to immediately take action to stop it. I created a WhatsApp group and added environmentalists and those working in this field. And we organized a protest on Sunday on a much larger scale”Delhi’s version of the Chipko MovementThe residents of Sarojini Nagar also joined the protest, including youngsters who said that they don’t want to wear masks to school. Bhavna Garg, a Class XI student who was at the protest, said, “On Friday night, I saw people gathering here for the protest. I live here, so I know that a number of trees have been cut in the area. If standing here for six-seven hours with a candle can stop it, I will do it.”Shubho Mukherjee, a Class VIII student who also lives in Sarojini Nagar, said, “Last November, the situation was so bad in Delhi that not just me, but all my friends had to buy masks. I don’t want to wear a mask again this year, and therefore I’ve joined the protest. We can’t stop going to school during smog, but we can at least try to save trees.”Protesters in south Delhi joined hands to save Delhi ’s lungWhen asked what she is protesting against, Divya Khurana, a seven-year-old who joined the protest with her mother, said, “My mom told me that trees will be cut near our homes. Trees are living beings, so we came here to save them.” Her mom, Priya Khurana, said, “We live nearby in a colony and were in the market, but when we saw people protesting against tree-felling, both of us joined in. It’s heartbreaking to buy a mask for my seven-year-old kid. We live in this area, and we know what cutting those trees will do to it. Don’t they know that we can’t afford to cut even one tree, forget 16,500?”