Save our mangroves: Once a 300 acre of wetland, now turns barren and dry
Mirror Now, 8 April 2019
In the coastal town on Uran, an anonymous piece of wetland spread over 300 hectares and once considered as the heaven of greenery has now fallen prey to the barrels of urban development.
In the coastal town on Uran, which is just 60 km away from Mumbai – an anonymous piece of wetland which is spread over 300 hectares and was once considered as the heaven of greenery has now fallen prey to the barrels of urban development.
A few months ago, this wetland was home to countless varieties of migratory as well as resting birds and was a paradise for exotic birds but today the land has been reduced to a huge patch of dry and dead area.
Mirror Now reported from 300 acres of Panje wetland in Uran, which was once flourishing with greenery used to be the perfect feeding ground for over 250 birds that use to come here.
A part of this wetland has been converted into a holding pond, which is flood controlling mechanism used in order to control water during high tides. Wherein, environmentalist and locals say that this holding pond is being used as an obstruction to stop the water entering this wetland.
The wetland is a part of Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone (NMSEZ) and in the entire wetland area, a boundary has been created by the NMSEZ, which is also one of the reasons why water from other creeks has stopped flowing in, as a result of which it has turned into a completely barren land.
While speaking with Mirror Now, activist BN Kumar, alleged that the building which is holding the pond by the City and Industrial Development Corporation ( CIDCO) on the pretext of controlling floods was an excuse to stop seawater from flowing into the wetland.
Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court says that they have ordered CIDCO to keep the sluice gates open to ensure an uninterrupted flow of water. Reports too mention that the court has also ordered for the demolition of these illegal gates.
Member of the Mangrove Committee, Debi Goenka said that on September 17, 2018, the Bombay High Court, ordered that cutting down mangroves trees is prohibited and closing the gates which eventually stops the free-flowing of water is also prohibited. Hence, the committee has taken the decision that CIDCO would not be allowed to close the gates without the permission of the committee.
The rich biodiversity at the Panje wetlands was the only source of livelihood for the fishermen living in the villages nearby, but now the fishermen are struggling to meet their basic needs. Uran, one of the largest coastal area in Maharastra wetlands, is dying a slow death and despite clear instruction from the Bombay High court to protect wetlands and Mangroves, no corrective steps have been taken yet.