The state government has to cut 1,700 trees to set up a sadhu village for Nashik Simhastha, but the domestic workers come together to save it.
Domestic workers have stood up on the lines of ‘Chipko Movement’ to save trees in Tapovan, Nashik. The campaign to cut 1,700 trees for the proposed Sadhu Gram before the 2026-27 Kumbh Mela is facing protests across Maharashtra. For the last three weeks, civil society groups and local organizations have opened a front against this project. The Tapovan tree movement is becoming a widespread people’s movement rather than a local issue. On December 5, about 25 domestic workers from Nashik started a movement to save trees. Her inspiration is the Chipko movement, a forest protection campaign of the 1970s, in which villagers, mostly women, would cling to trees to save them. It was a wonderful movement of common people opening a front to protect nature.
A massive protest took place in Tapovan under the leadership of city president Meena Jadhav and city secretary Prajakta Kapadne of Nashik District Domestic Workers Union, affiliated to AITUC. The women in it were in red sarees. 38 year old Sushma Ughade had reached there with her 11 year old daughter.
Sushma Ughade said, “I took a day off to join the protest. My daughter came because she wanted to know why trees were being cut. People around Tapovan asked us about it, appreciated our efforts and said they would also like to join. Trees give us everything from fruits to oxygen, so I felt I should protest.” Along with Sushma, Chhaya Varde, Haseena Shaikh, Sushma Ramraje, Asha Shivade, Lata Pathare, Pranali Chandramor, Shobha Abhang, Baby Wankhede, Jyoti Pawar, Lalita Thombre and Mumtaz Shaikh also joined the protest along with other AITUC workers. These women have expressed their intention to make the movement bigger.
“From tomorrow we will start spreading awareness in our own way, in our neighborhood or with our employers. We will appeal to people to plant trees and protect them. I don’t want the next generation to suffer in a polluted environment. For poor people like us, trees are a source of shade and clean air. They are our oxygen,” said Pranali Chandramor, 38, a domestic worker who participated in the protest.
The income of these domestic workers who came forward to save the trees is very little. It is difficult for them to take even a day off. The income of most women is less than Rs 10,000 per month. His day starts around 4 in the morning. They also handle their household chores and work in their owners’ homes the rest of the day.
These women had sought leave from their employers to come here. In telephone conversations, the women said that many bosses supported their decision, praised their efforts and assured them that there would be no cut in wages.
Meena Aadhav, 49, told Outlook, “Most domestic workers had never visited Tapovan, the city’s forested tourist spot, because they lack the time, opportunity and money. A day off usually means a loss of wages, yet the women came here. After the protest, all the women visited Tapovan, which is impossible for domestic workers.”
For these domestic workers, the idea of protecting the environment comes from their own experience. They may not know what climate change means, but their understanding is based on difficulties.
Meena says, “I know the value of oxygen. During the Covid pandemic, lakhs of people were yearning for it. Hospitals were full. I lost a friend from my colony because there was no oxygen or treatment. My daughter somehow got her admitted to the hospital, but she did not survive. Her entire life was spent fighting poverty. This is what I mean by oxygen. So when we have natural forests, why does the Maharashtra government want to destroy them?”
united residents
Another domestic worker, on the condition of anonymity, says, “Trees are our natural AC and our clean air. Can we afford AC?”
End of Tapovan will also mean loss of livelihood of many poor families living nearby. Many people here run small tea and snack shops for the tourists and just for leisure. Although municipal officials and ministers, including Girish Mahajan, have talked about planting the same number of trees elsewhere, people are strongly opposed to cutting trees. This issue was also raised recently in the winter session of Parliament by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP from Nashik, Rajabhau Waje.
Prajakta Kapadne, a young activist who is organizing the protest, says seeing “women in red sarees” gives hope. “We are now planning to run a big awareness campaign by going door-to-door and distributing pamphlets,” he said.
The protesters insisted that they were not against the Kumbh Mela or any religion. They consider the Kumbh Mela as part of Nashik’s identity, but insist that trees should not be cut in its name. Their demand is that the government should immediately stop the tree cutting project and find some other option.
The Nashik Kumbh Mela takes place once every 12 years, according to astrological calculations. Since Jupiter comes in Leo, it is called Simhastha Aquarius. It generally takes place between July and September along the banks of the Godavari River.
It has been more than two weeks since people have been gathering under the banyan and tamarind trees in the Tapovan forest on the banks of Godavari because they are afraid of the municipal notice. This land has been earmarked as a temporary accommodation for the saints coming for the Kumbh Mela of 2026-27. According to reports, around 1,700 trees may be cut. There is a lot of anger among the people due to this scheme. Actor Sayaji Shinde is known for planting trees in western Maharashtra and is now active in a regional political organisation. He also participated in the demonstration. He stressed that not a single tree should be cut.
Roshan Kedar, 34, an environmentalist living in Nashik, said, “Initially the Municipal Corporation officials did not even pay attention to people’s objections and suggestions on email. Everyone was asked to come and give objections in person, which was not practical. We asked them to look into the objections sent through email. Hundreds of such objections have been sent to the administration, yet there is no clarity about withdrawing the decision, but every section of Nashik People are opposing this and gradually this movement is becoming bigger.
It is important to support the people gathering here. Not a single tree should be cut anywhere for any work, then it is Tapovan.
Sayaji Shinde, actor
With inputs from Jinit Parmar