4 months ago
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A signature run to prevention a massive tamarind tree with humanities worth successful a Kolkata neighbourhood appears to person paid disconnected with the medication assuring activists that it volition not beryllium brought down.
The tree, home to galore varieties of birds, was planted successful her compound by the revolutionary Parul Mukherjee astir 70 years agone erstwhile she came to settee successful a exile colony (which became Vidyasagar Colony) successful southbound Kolkata. At the property of 20, successful 1935, she was convicted successful the Titagarh conspiracy lawsuit and had spent 4 years successful jail.
A question to prevention the tree began successful July 2024 soon aft builders were handed implicit the ageing spot and it seemed that the tree would beryllium brought down anytime. But with the question — which included originative activities being organised astatine the determination — gaining nationalist attention, the bound partition of that location was restructured to bring the tree on Kolkata Municipal Corporation land.
The tree, home to galore varieties of birds, was planted successful her compound by the revolutionary Parul Mukherjee astir 70 years agone erstwhile she came to settee successful a exile colony (which became Vidyasagar Colony) successful Kolkata. Photo: Special Arrangement
But felling of different trees successful the neighbourhood erstwhile again raised concerns and the signature run was started successful December 2025. “I wrote a message connected December 30 to the Chief Conservator of Forests, who sent a ranger to inspect the histrion the adjacent day. The ranger called the promoter successful beforehand of america and was assured that the historical histrion would not beryllium chopped and that an altar would beryllium constructed astir it.”
‘Over 4,000 signatures’
“Then, connected January 7, [documentary filmmaker] Debalina [Majumder] and I met the Member, Mayor-in-Council of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation with much than 4,000 signatures of acrophobic citizens. He took america to the Chief Engineer’s office, which assured america that they had not fixed NOC for the felling of the tree. We are each blessed that we succeeded and anticipation that everybody keeps their promises,” said Barnali Das, a mathematics teacher who was among those starring the movement.
Debalina Majumder, who lives successful the neighbourhood and who made a 30-minute documentary connected the tamarind tree, Friends of Jilipibala, which featured astatine the caller Kolkata International Film Festival, said she was amazed by the fig of radical who came unneurotic successful the year-and-a-half agelong combat to prevention the tree.
“From artists who performed nether the histrion to friends who collected signatures to our petitions astatine weddings and memorials, and activists and neighbours who wrote to ministers, the wood section and KMC, the tamarind histrion has brought to the fore the resilience of this metropolis and its originative vision,” Ms. Majumder said.
According to Samata Biswas, a prof of English who spearheaded the signature campaign, Ms. Majumder’s documentary had a large relation successful the redeeming of the tree. “Friends of Jilipibala included 12 years of footage of the histrion and that truly helped physique consciousness astir municipality biodiversity. We anticipation to instrumentality this movie to schools crossed the State, to archer students that it is imaginable to support the situation done corporate action,” Prof. Biswas said.
