Goa, Sept. 12 -- Environmental activists and concerned citizens successfully saved a 40-year-old Rain tree with a sprawling canopy near the Carvalho petrol pump in Mapusa on Thursday, preventing it from being felled by the Public Works Department (PWD).

In a coordinated effort, the PWD also agreed to halt further tree cutting along the Mapusa-Parra road. Some previously cut trees will be translocated, while others that were heavily trimmed will remain intact. The PWD has committed to removing the tar around the trees to prevent damage to their girth, in compliance with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directive to maintain a one-meter radius around each tree.

Claude Alvares and Senior Advocate Norma Alvares intervened to speak with Goa...