Hyderabad, Dec. 16 -- The authorities - Nashik civic body to the chief minister of Maharashtra - have not given up hopes of felling substantial numbers of trees to accommodate the sadhus who would come for the October 2027 kumbh on the river Godavari. They are trying to persuade the tree-lovers to entertain hopes that the government would do the right thing by statistics. A slight willingness to concede the need for trees is visible, but a trust deficit has made the environmentalists firm.

When the Pune bench of the Green Tribunal ordered a moratorium of tree-felling till January 15, 2026, a sense of relief was seen among the tree lovers who found that a month would help them to further strengthen their fight. Cutting down of 1,273 trees...