Sea water supply for mangroves restored

Sea water supply for mangroves restored

We are grateful to the authorities for a prompt response to citizen’s complaints this time.

Land mafia had blocked the pipes under Gorai Creek Road to destroy the mangroves

Virat A Singh virat .singh @timesgroup .com TWEETS @singhvirat26

Mumbai Mirror 16^th December 2013

MIRROR REPORT SPURS FOREST DEPT TO UNBLOCK PIPES

    Within hours of Mirrorr eporting on how a huge tract of mangroves at Gorai Creek was being systematically destroyed by land sharks, the Forest Department swung into action and cleared two culverts that had been blocked to prevent sea water reaching the mangroves during high tide.
On Saturday, Mirror’s report revealed how local residents had alerted authorities about two culverts beneath Gorai Creek Road being blocked with cement and gunny bags containing concrete chunks and stones. They alleged that it was a clear attempt by the land mafia to first kill the mangroves which need sea water for survival,and then clear them to use the land for development.
    “Three staff members of the Forest Department’s mangroves cell along with four labourers reached Gorai at 11 am and worked for almost four hours to clear the culverts that were blocked with cement and sacks of stones,” said Harish Pandey of the New Link Road Resident Forum. The citizens group plays an active role in helping locals save the dense mangrove habitat, which attracts various birds and is home to several species of fish.
    Pandey further pointed out that if the creek water is prevented from reaching the Gorai mangroves, it would also affect the entire stretch of mangroves from Borivali to Dahisar on the west coast. “We will pursue this matter in High Court when our PIL filed earlier this year comes up for hearing on Dec 23,” he added.
    Gorai Village sarpanch Rossi D’Souza, who played the crucial role in discovering the blockages, said, “We are happy that forest officials from the mangroves cell responded immediately and saved our mangroves. It’s a huge task to safeguard mangroves from the land mafia, and we request officials to regularly patrol this area.”
    Gorai creek has one of Mumbai’s largest, unspoiled mangrove tracts, spread over 1,200 hectares. D’Souza said that some more culverts are in urgent need of repairs, and they will be meeting officials to push for the work to begin soon.
    Chief Conservator of Forests (Mangroves Cell) N Vasudevan said, “We have cleared all the blockages and I have instructed my staff to also check other locations along the stretch to find out if any such attempts have been made there. While we intend to have regular patrolling, we also request locals to alert us if they come across any similar attempts being made.”