India, Dec. 22 -- In a bid to halt what they termed "destructive, car-centric development", environmental activists and residents on Wednesday staged a silent protest at Charkop village against the proposed Versova-Bhayandar coastal road. Warning that the project would lead to large-scale destruction of mangroves and heighten climate and flood risks along Mumbai's coast, around 25 residents gathered at the project site, holding placards and raising slogans.

The protest follows the Bombay high court's recent approval to the BMC to proceed with the coastal road project, which is expected to impact around 45,000 mangroves. According to activists, the affected mangroves form a significant share of nearly 60,000 mangroves spread across the Ch...