Environmental activist Shilpi said that development projects should not come at the cost of forests and raised concerns over the proposed expansion project. “We don’t want these trees cut, and they’re saying it needs to be made into a four-lane road,” She said. She also highlighted concerns related to climate change, rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns in the region. “Does this mean that in the future, they are going to cut down the entire mountain and make it a four-lane road? We all know that the temperature has already risen by 2.5 degrees, and climate change is right in front of us… The way Rishikesh receives so little rainfall now, the locals can relate to this very well,” she said.
