Over 800 Punekars ‘Run for the Hills’ on Sunday

More than 800 people, most of them first-timers to the Vetal tekdi, participated in the ‘Run for the Hills’ marathon organised Sunday as part of the larger ‘Yellow Ribbon campaign’ to save the hills of Pune from unrestricted development. They came along with their families, friends and even children to participate in the run aimed at creating awareness and reaching out to as many people as possible to help preserve the rich biodiversity of Pune’s hills.

Dr Sonali Talvlikar, a veteran who has been visiting the tekdi for the last 40 years, said, “When we started running here, there was no tree cover and hardly any people on this hill in 1983. It was more of a barren land where we, as a group, planted some of the first trees, due to which we have a huge emotional attachment to the tekdi. Today’s run is to ensure that this tekdi – often referred to as the last man standing – stays the way it is. This run is to help preserve it as it is for if it is not taken care of and the proposed road goes through, that will be the end of this quiet place with incredible flora and fauna that helps people connect with nature. This is a very important run and this is my home and I would be completely lost without this tekdi.”

Dushyant Bhatia, a participant from Bavdhan, said, “I believe in the cause of the environment and I am here to support the cause and help protect the tekdi. If the projects planned by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) go through, it will cause unbelievable pollution and ground water erosion which will affect everything that this tekdi stands for.”

Jugal Rathi, among those waving slogans such as ‘Save the tekdi’ and ‘Cancel the HCMTR’, said, “Why would anyone want to destroy such a place of natural beauty. The PMC needs to pay heed to the citizens and stop these roads from being developed here.”

The three projects planned by the civic body that pose a threat to the tekdi are the Balbharati road across the Law college slope (surface road); two tunnels with exits at Sutardhara (Paud road), Janwadi (Gokhalenagar) and Panchavati; and the HCMTR/Neo metro elevated road across the Law college slope.

Event organiser Arvind Bijwe said, “We had around 800 people and got a good response. It was encouraging to see new people come together for a cause and run to experience the trail. The proposed road will break the hill into five parts. They should not touch this hill as it doesn’t have the height needed for a tunnel to go through.”

While Prajakta Divekar, an environmental expert, said, “This is a citizen-led movement, and we want the PMC to be answerable to the citizens as to why it wants to get rid of this natural reserve for the sake of short-sighted developmental projects like the Balbharati road etc. With this run, we want to create public awareness about the PMC and its misinformation regarding these projects.”