03 June,2017 06:08 PM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
Locals allege that trees from the Metro 3 sites are being thrown near the mangroves at Dahisar; MMRC spokesperson does not comment
The wood, and plastic mineral water bottles, and glass beer bottles that are being dumped near the mangroves
Will the mangroves in and around Mumbai never be safe? The newest threat to them seems to be the Metro. Activists have alleged that trees chopped to make way for it are being dumped within 50 metres of the mangroves at Ganpat Patil Nagar in Dahisar West. To add to this, hundreds of empty plastic mineral water bottles and glass beer bottles are also being thrown there.
Activist Harish Pande of the New Link Road Residents' Association in Dahisar, who has been fighting to save the mangroves in the area said, "A few days back, a resident from the area told me that a lot of wood was dumped at the mangroves patch near Ganpat Patil Nagar. When I visited the spot I was shocked to see how close it was to the mangroves forest."
From Metro site?
Locals alleged that the wood was brought from Metro III site where trees are being removed.
"I called up the tree officer of the ward to check if the BMC had dumped the chopped trees, but he told me that they had not done it," said Pande.
At present the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) is cutting trees in South Mumbai, and Pande alleged that the wood from these might have been dumped in Dahisar.
MMRC says
When asked whether the chopped trees from the Metro III sites were being dumped at Dahisar, a spokesperson from MMRC only said this, "Tree cutting is being done for absolutely essential number of trees in a legally permitted manner."
