Thank you all for signing this petition.
One of the areas of Auroville that will be destroyed by the planned highway is Pitchandikulam Forest. I am attaching a link to a video which gives information about the amazing reforestation work done there. The video also tells us about how Aurovilians work with the residents of villages around them to change the ecology of the area.
Aurovilians have organised successful afforestation projects along with the Government of Tamilnadu (Adyar Poonga in Chennai), with industries (Ashok Leyland, 82,000 sq m), in the surrounding areas (Nadukuppam) and in the world (Kenya, Haiti).
Let's remind Tamilnadu that carefully nurtured environments need to be protected, especially in areas that suffer from lack of water and vegetation.
Presently Sri Edappadi K Palaniswami, the Honourable Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, holds the portfolio for the Ministry for Highways and Minor Ports. Please post a message to his Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/cmotamilnadu/ and tweet him on https://twitter.com/cmopalanisamy?lang=en Let him know how much you care and ask him to support the demands of the residents of Auroville's bioregion.
Points you can include: (1) Pathbreaking work has been done in Vanur Taluk to change the environment over the last 50 years (2) What was once dry, arid land has been transformed into lush vegetation (3) There has been, and continues to be, a struggle to protect the water table (4) The lives of all the residents have improved in quality with access to locally grown food and locally available water (5) All this will be destroyed by the proposed highway.
Do be polite! If you can, include photos or short videos; it will make a better impact. It is easy to access these through vimeo and the Facebook page of Auroville OutreachMedia. You could also invite him to visit the panchayat of Kuilapalayam and Bommaiyarpalayam and see for himself the destruction that will be caused.
It would be wonderful if we could reach 5000 and we should be able to do that easily.
Right now, please contact one friend and ask them to sign this petition!