Amitabh Bachchan praises metro project, greens see red

Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan on Wednesday was drawn into the controversy surrounding the setting up of a car shed for the Metro 3 line at Aarey Colony — the city’s green lungs — after tweeting in support of metro projects in the city.

Not only did netizens ridicule the veteran actor for ostensibly supporting the axing of more than 2,000 trees in the verdant area, a few activists — armed with placards — also carried out a protest outside his Juhu bungalow, Jalsa.

Tweeting his appreciation for the “faster, convenient and most efficient” mode of transport, Mr Bachchan on Tuesday had written, “Solution for pollution…Grow more trees…I did in my garden…have you (sic).” This did not go down well with citizens and by Wednesday evening, there were around 2,300 replies to the tweet. One such reply read: “What exactly are you implying here Sir? You’re advocating for the Metro and justifying the Shed and telling us to plant trees? More than half of Bombay lives in flats, want us to plant trees in there? Unless you’re giving us all one Jalsa each, don’t sound so ridiculous pls (sic).”

It is to be noted that Mr Bachchan has appeared in Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) advertisements for the city’s upcoming Metro corridors, which depict the transit system helping commuters overcome traffic snarls.

While the actor has not come out and defended himself, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) MD Ashwini Bhide, replying to Mr Bachchan’s tweet, thanked him for highlighting the importance of the metro network in Mumbai. Environment activist Zoru Bathena, however, requested the actor to leave the confines of his garden and join the people waiting outside his bungalow. “Let us take to you for a Aarey visit. It will change your perception. When will you join Sir (sic),” he tweeted.

The protest, meanwhile, has been gathering momentum by the day and political parties such as the Shiv Sena, Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have backed protesters.