India, March 21 -- The residents of Charkop Sector 8 are in for a rude surprise. The interchange of the extended Coastal Road is soon going to make inroads into their neighbourhood, altering forever their relative peace and their view of the vast swathes of mangroves. This reality hit them at the beginning of the month when 336 trees along their road were pasted with notices of cutting/ transplantation.

"Charkop Sector 8 is considered the best area in Charkop, thanks to the 136 hectares of mangroves that carry fresh air and biodiversity," said Mili Shetty, chief coordinator of the Charkop Sector 8 Vikas Samiti, who followed up the residents' objections to the tree-cutting with a letter to the BMC. "We are now very concerned about the imm...