A 64-guntha green pocket surrounding the Shri Devkadevi Temple in Ghansoli Sector 11 home to nearly 350 mature trees and considered a cultural landmark by residents has emerged as the centre of a growing citizens’ movement. Locals fear that the land, long protected as a temple precinct, is now under threat following indications of possible action by CIDCO’s encroachment department.

On Thursday, villagers from across the Ghansoli region gathered in what they described as a “collective defence of heritage and ecology,” vowing to protect the temple grove from any construction activity. For them, the issue is not just about land, but about safeguarding a rare green patch in an increasingly overcrowded city.

“This is not just a plot — it is our history, our ecology, and our identity. Once the

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