Ludhiana: Students protest against PAUs decision to axe trees over road construction

PTC News Desk: Students at Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) are protesting over university's plan to cut trees for the proposed widening of the road in front of the university’s Mohinder Singh Randhawa Library. 

The students took to social media and highlighted the dissonance between university's credentials as an agricultural university and its attempt to cut trees over road construction. 

Writing on Instagram, university student Simranjeet Singh, said, “The decision to uproot nearly 100 trees for road widening in our university is deeply disappointing. An institution meant to protect agriculture and nature should be encouraging tree plantation, not destroying green cover. Such actions raise serious concerns about misplaced priorities and growing corporate influence within the university.” 

He further underscored that the development should not come at the cost of the environment especially at a place that echoes sustainability and ecological responsibility. 

The outrage was triggered after the authorities marked the area inside the campus that will be included in the road and foootpath in the project. The students asserted that such a decision adds a layer of concern when pollution and its grave effects pose significant threat to human lives and that it is highly insensitive to even think about cutting trees. 

Highlighting his concerns, Angrej Mann, a member of the Punjab Agricultural Students Union said,”The whole stretch has around 100-150 trees along the road, which will be cut to make way for the widening of the road. We have seen how pollution has taken over North India for the last couple of months. The trees are lungs for the environment. Cutting so many trees defeats sense.”