03 October,2020 07:17 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
The picture sent by another nature lover to Milli Shetty
A nature lover from Kandivli has alleged that a few anti-social elements are burning the area close to the mangroves in Charkop so that the trees get damaged and they can eventually encroach upon the area.
On Thursday evening, Milli Shetty, a resident of Sector 2 Charkop, saw smoke emanating from the mangroves patch. "I saw the mangroves burning but could not click any pictures from my window. So I asked my group of nature lovers from the area if they could get a clear view from their balconies. Later, one of the group members managed to take a few pictures where the smoke emanating from the mangroves patch is clearly visible,"
said Shetty.
The locals are not sure about who is behind this incident, but they think that since the rainy season is almost over, there will be a lot of such incidents in the days to come to clear the thicket which may have thrived in the rains.
"The destruction of mangroves has been happening for many years and this needs to stop. The police, tehsildar office and Forest Department officials should increase the patrolling in the area and take strict action against those involved," Shetty added.
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According to Shetty, in 2018, there were 18 mangrove burning incidents, in 2019 there were 12 and now that monsoon is over the same might start again.
Time and again mid-day has been highlighting the illegal encroachments taking place in the city by destroying mangrove patches. At several places across the city, anti-social elements burn the area close to the mangrove trees so that the area can be cleared and encroachments can
be set up.
Action has been initiated against several violators several times in the past however this has not deterred the perpetrators from encroaching the forested areas.
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