Vocal about Amazon fires, Mumbai cops’ Twitter handle mute on Aarey tree felling

PTI, Oct 6, 2019, 10:14 AM IST

Mumbai: The Twitter handle of Mumbai Police, which had recently lamented fires in the Amazon rainforest, was silent on Saturday as protests erupted against cutting of trees in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony.

Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation began chopping down trees to make way for metro car shed on Friday night after the High Court dismissed petitions challenging the permission for tree cutting.

“Loss of the Amazon Rain forest is a loss to the entire Mankind. let us all resolve to protect & conserve our flora & fauna before it’s too late,” Mumbai Police had tweeted on their official handle on August 28.

“if not us, then who? If not now, then when who?” #SaveAmazon #SaveMotherEarth,” it tweeted.

However, on Friday night and Saturday, as more than 200 trees were cut and 29 protesters were arrested in Aarey Colony, the police Twitter handle was silent.

@MumbaiPolice, which has 48 lakh followers, is known for expressing views on variety of issues through text or memes, sometimes in a sarcastic vein.

The last tweet had come on Wednesday, on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. “On 150th birth anniversary of Bapuji and 115th of Lal Bahadur Shastriji, let’s pay tribute to both by walking down the path of truth and simplicity laid down by them,” the police had tweeted.

But though cops were silent, green activists took to Twitter on Saturday to express anger about cutting of trees and action against protesters.

“If you mean even an ounce of what you say this would not have been happening to people who stood for #SaveAarey,The #India that these leaders dreamed of is just not this. #StopThisMadness of siding people who are out to finish the city through their greedy plans,” tweeted Nayana Harish Pai.

Replying to her tweet, Falgun Pawar said, “I guess @MumbaiPolice were busy posting tweets and couldn’t tell right from wrong. This is so sad. #SaveAareySaveMumbai.