July 16. “Button, a story in yesterday’s Mid-day made my heart skip a beat.”

“What was it about?”

“3000 trees are to be axed in Chembur to make way for a shopping mall!”

“What?”

“Yes. Trees are the lungs of a city. With her lungs gone, how will she breathe?”

“That’s really sad and disgusting.”

“These trees are many many years old. Once they are hacked, they’ll be gone forever. Planting saplings takes years to grow to the size of the ones that are killed.”

“Who’s responsible for all this?”

“Obviously the state environment ministry that claims it knows nothing about this proposed construction.”

“I hope the Chembur residents take quick action and prevent this from happening.”

“The trees are homes to local and migratory birds like the spotted dove, the Indian pitta, tailorbirds, warblers and several small creatures. Where will they go? Where will they build their nests. The house sparrow has already been declared an endangered species. I just read somewhere that the Philately Department is bringing out a stamp on the sparrow to make people aware that it is on the verge of extinction and should be cared for.”

“What’s the point?”

“Exactly. If hundreds of trees are being hacked to make way for buildings and more buildings, how will bringing out a stamp improve awareness! Birds are fleeing because their habitats are fast disappearing; their homes are being destroyed. Is this rocket science and, therefore, so difficult to understand?”