FELL TREES, RUIN YOURENVIRONMENT FOREVER Elvidio Miranda The enormity of the futility of felling trees in your own area can only be felt when you are the victim of felling of trees yourselves. The people of Panaji city would be reminded, what would happen if all the trees in Altinho, Campal and Miramar were to be felled? The consequences would be that the ambient air quality of the air in Panaji would deteriorate beyond measure as a result of trees not being there to conduct the process of photosynthesis which would replenish the air in the city with oxygen. Also besides the shade afforded by the trees, in the morning, there would not be the chirping, warbling and twittering of the birds and the familiar call of the restless squirrels as they dart from tree to tree. Would Panjimites want to live in a barren city devoid of trees? Similar is the case in the villages where people make their rustic abode. What would be your lives without the trees, the birds, the squirrels, the butterflies and the fresh air? The reason why I am writing this is for people to imagine themselves in an environment devoid of trees and then realize and support in an overwhelming manner the opposition of felling of over 70,000 trees to make way for the three infra projects in Mellem which will definitely cause untold damage to the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and the Mollem National Park which is much wider green area of bio-diversity which will begin to disappear if the people of Goa do not oppose with full force the destruction of this western ghats area which is also a United Nations protected area. Only when you become victims, do you realize what it is like to be at the receiving end.
