Why Are Domestic Workers Protesting to Save Trees in Nashik?

In Nashik, domestic workers have launched a “Chipko Andolan–style” protest to save trees in Tapovan. The proposal to cut down 1,700 trees for the planned Sadhu Gram ahead of the 2026–27 Kumbh Mela has drawn sharp criticism across Maharashtra. For the past three weeks, civil society groups and local collectives have been demonstrating against the project.

The Tapovan tree protest has grown beyond a local issue, evolving into a wider people’s movement. On Friday, December 5, around 25 domestic workers from Nashik held their own agitation in support of saving the trees.

The Chipko Andolan was a 1970s forest conservation movement where villagers, led largely by women, embraced trees to stop them from being felled. It became a powerful symbol of grassroots resistance, ordinary people standing arm-in-arm with nature to protect it. 

Nashik District Domestic Workers Union AITUC City President Meena Aadhav and City Secretary Prajakta Kapadne mobilised domestic workers for the Friday protest at Tapovan. Women went to the protest in red saree and dresses – wearing their organisation’s (AITUC) uniform. Sushma Ughade, 38 took her 11-year-old daughter to the protest.  

“I took a day off to attend the protest, and my daughter, curious about why the trees were being cut, decided to come with me. People around Tapovan asked us about it, appreciated our effort, and said they would have liked to join. Trees give us everything, from fruit to oxygen, so I felt I had to protest,” said Sushma Ughade, 38, a domestic worker from Nashik.

Along with Sushma, Chhaya Varade, Haseena Shaikh, Sushma Ramaraje, Asha Shivde, Lata Pathare, Pranali Chandramore, Shobha Abhang, Baby Wankhede, Jyoti Pawar, Lalita Thombre and Mumtaj Shaikh joined other AITUC activists in the protest. These women have committed to going beyond a one-day demonstration.

“From tomorrow, we will start raising awareness in our own way, whether in our neighbourhoods or with our employers. We’ll urge people to plant and protect trees. I don’t want the next generation to suffer in a polluted environment. For poor people like us, trees are our shade and our clean air. They are our oxygen,” said Pranali Chandramore, 38, another domestic worker who took part.

All the domestic workers who protested come from low-income households, where taking a day off is a luxury. Most earn less than ₹10,000 a month. Their days begin around 4 am, balancing their own household chores before spending the rest of the day travelling between employers’ homes to earn a living.

For Friday’s protest, the workers requested leave from their employers the previous day. Many employers supported their decision, appreciated their effort, and assured them there would be no pay cut, the women said in telephone interviews.

“Most of our workers had never seen Tapovan, a forested tourist spot in the city, because they lack the time, opportunity, and resources. A day off usually means a loss of wages, yet these women still came to protest. Afterward, we enjoyed a walk through Tapovan — something otherwise impossible for domestic workers due to their precarious work lives,” said Meena Aadhav, 49, speaking to Outlook.

Environmental Concerns Rooted in Lived Experience

For these domestic workers, including former domestic worker Meena Aadhav, care for the environment comes from lived experience. They may not know climate-change jargon, but their understanding is grounded in hardship.

“I know the value of oxygen,” Meena says. “During the Covid pandemic, millions were struggling for it. Hospitals were full. I lost a friend from my basti because there was no oxygen or health care. My daughter managed to get her admitted, but she didn’t survive. She had fought poverty all her life. This is what I mean by oxygen. So when we already have natural forest cover, why does the Maharashtra government want to destroy it?”

“Trees are our natural AC and our clean air. Can people like us afford air-conditioning?” says another domestic worker who did not wish to be named.

‘Eroding Tapovan’ would mean a loss of livelihood for many marginalised families living nearby. Activists say several households run small tea and snack stalls for tourists and regular visitors. Although municipal authorities and ministers, including Girish Mahajan, have spoken of compensatory afforestation elsewhere, residents remain firmly opposed to the tree-cutting plan. The issue was recently raised in Parliament’s winter session by Rajabhau Waje, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP for Nashik.

For young activist Prajakta Kapadne, who helped organise the protest, the sight of “women in red” offers hope. “We’re now planning an intensive awareness campaign by distributing pamphlets door to door,” she said.

The protesting domestic workers stressed that they are not opposed to the Kumbh Mela or any religion. They recognise the Kumbh Mela as part of Nashik’s identity, but insist that trees must not be cut in its name. Their union has demanded that the administration immediately halt the tree-cutting proposal and find an alternative.

The Nashik Kumbh Mela is held once every 12 years, aligned with the astrological moment when Jupiter enters the Leo (Simha) zodiac sign, one of the reasons why it is called the Simhastha Kumbh according to believers. The religious gathering usually takes place between July and September along the banks of the Godavari River, according to Government of India’s tourism archives, Nashik Municipal Corporation’s official documentation, and encyclopaedic references such as Britannica. 

For over two weeks, residents have been gathering beneath the banyan and tamarind trees of Tapovan forest, along the banks of the Godavari, alarmed by a municipal notice. The land, earmarked for temporary accommodation for visiting saints at the 2026–27 Kumbh Mela, could be cleared, with reports suggesting around 1,700 trees may be cut. The scale and method of the plan have sparked public outrage. Actor Sayaji Shinde, known for tree-planting in western Maharashtra and now active in a regional political group, joined the protesters, insisting that no tree should be felled.

“Initially, the municipal authorities were not accepting people’s objections and recommendations over email. They asked for in person submission of objections, which wasn’t practical. We requested them to include objections sent by email, hundreds of such objections are sent to the administration yet there is no clarity about the roll back of the decision, but people of Nashik across the spectrum are protesting. It has now become a people’s movement,” said Roshan Kedar, 34, an environmentalist based in Nashik.   

(With Inputs from Jinit Parmar)