Aarey Issue: Hearing to begin shortly, watch ground report

The political drama escalated after hundreds of people gathered to protest in Aarey colony in suburban Mumbai after they were informed that trees were being axed by authorities late Friday night. The protests continued during the wee hours of Saturday in an attempt to stop authorities.

The site also saw heavy police deployment who started dispersing the crowd and had to forcibly remove the protesters. When the situation worsened, police started taking protesters into custody. As many as 29 people have been arrested since yesterday night and section 144 was imposed by Mumbai Police.

The activists intensified their protests after the Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed all petitions regarding the felling of the trees by Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (MMRCL) in the green zone to construct a car-shed for the Metro-3 project.