India, March 2 -- Hundreds of Navi Mumbai residents poured into Palm Beach Road on Sunday and formed a human chain to register their protest against the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation's (NMMC) plan to cut down/ transplant 440 trees to make way for a vehicular underpass in Sanpada.

Dense tree cover along the Palm Beach Road acts as a crucial natural pollution barrier, said Shrikant Patki, convenor, Palm Beach Greens Forum.

"Morning Air Quality Index (AQI) levels here often hit 300-350. Many people have stopped going for morning walks due to coughing and respiratory issues. Cutting hundreds of trees in such conditions is a direct public health risk," Patki told Hindustan Times.

The proposed underpass near sector 19, which received the...