🌳 “Ped Bandhan: Har Ped, Ek Rakshak” 🌳

From a State Cause to National Movement

Right now, along the Bhaniyawala–Jolly Grant–Rishikesh stretch (NH-07), thousands of green, decades-old trees are falling to the axe. Authorities plan to fell 4,369 trees and transplant 754 others for a ₹743-crore, ~20 km road-widening project by NHAI.

This forest is an ecologically sensitive Shivalik zone — an elephant corridor linked to Rajaji National Park. Clearing it risks damaging wildlife habitats, raising local temperatures, and weakening the region’s natural resilience.

🌱 Why we must speak up:

▪️ Over 46,000 hectares of forest land lost since the state’s formation — more than 250 acres every single day.
▪️ Mature trees regulate temperature, recharge groundwater, and sustain biodiversity — saplings cannot replace decades-old forests.
▪️ Environmentalists urge safer alternatives — modified alignments, elevated stretches, stronger safeguards — before thousands of trees fall.

📢 THE TIME HAS COME FOR A NATIONWIDE CHIPKO-LIKE MOVEMENT

Rishikesh is not alone. From the Aravallis to the Western Ghats, from Dehradun to city after city, forests are falling in the name of “development.” A state-by-state fight is not enough. What we need is one united national movement — a Bharat Chipko Andolan — where every citizen, every town, every village stands guard over its trees.

🌿 We have done this before — and won:

▪️ Bishnoi Sacrifice (1730, Khejarli, Rajasthan): Led by Amrita Devi, 363 Bishnois gave their lives hugging Khejri trees to stop the king’s axemen. The world’s first tree-hugging stand.
▪️ Chipko Movement (1973, Chamoli, Uttarakhand): Villagers — led by Gaura Devi, Sunderlal Bahuguna and Chandi Prasad Bhatt — embraced trees to block loggers. Its message endures: “Ecology is permanent economy.”
▪️ Appiko Movement (1983, Karnataka): The South’s Chipko — “Appiko” means “to hug” in Kannada — saved the Western Ghats forests.
▪️ Silent Valley Movement (Kerala): Public pressure saved a pristine tropical rainforest from a dam.

These were ordinary people. No power, no machinery — only courage and unity. And they won.

🌏 A NEW MOVEMENT FOR OUR TIME —

“Ped Bandhan: Har Ped, Ek Rakshak”
(One Tree, One Guardian)

▪️ Adopt & guard — every family adopts and protects one tree in its area.
▪️ Plant back double — for every tree lost to a project, plant two and track them.
▪️ Speak & document — photograph, report, and raise voice against illegal felling; demand transparent, evidence-based clearances.
▪️ Go digital — connect local groups nationwide, so a fight in Rishikesh becomes a fight for all of India.

Development and nature are not enemies. India needs safer roads — but not at the cost of the shade, rain, and clean air our children will beg for tomorrow.

🌿 A Message from Sitaram Foundation 🌿

“Ped Bandhan: Har Ped, Ek Rakshak”

“Save Tree, Save Nature”

A tree does not ask for anything in return — it gives us air to breathe, water to drink, and a home for countless lives. When we protect a tree, we protect our own future.

Let us pledge: for every tree that falls, we will raise our voice, and we will plant more. Nature is not inherited from our ancestors — it is borrowed from our children.

🙏 Plant. Protect. Preserve.
Save Trees 🌳 Save Nature 🌏 Save Life

— Sitaram Foundation

#BharatChipkoAndolan #SaveTrees #StopDeforestation #Rishikesh #Dehradun #SaveNature #ChipkoMovement #PedBandhan

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