Friday,June 5, activists and volunteers staged symbolic funeral for trees cut down near Kasu Brahmananda Reddy (KBR) National Park. Timed with World Environment Day, ‘Save KBR’ event protested tree felling tied to Hyderabad's city infrastructure project.
At park's entrance,participants mourned hundreds of trees,claiming removals defied a 2021 High Court order halting such actions. Dressed in white,they built a pyre from logs to symbolize the fallen. Then,a procession carried a bier to Cancer Hospital Junction,where a symbolic grave awaited .
Traditional Telugu folk music played as the group laid a tree in the grave,tying sacred thread around it for protection. Two saplings planted on either side underscored need for environmental preservation. An activist linked ongoing heat wave to government’s reckless tree cutting. “We need development,but please understand development cannot come at cost of destruction of environment,” the activist said .
Vijay Mallangi,veteran Save KBR Campaign advocate, urged authorities to hold public hearings to grasp community concerns. The symbolic funeral highlighted ongoing tension between urban growth and conservation in Hyderabad…and what's next?
