02 June,2017 07:51 PM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
Ferry service at Flamingo Sanctuary in Airoli is still awaiting the maritime board nod
Over 25,000 flamingos visit Mumbai every year
Tourists waiting to take the ferry to see the flamingos at the recently opened flamingo sanctuary might have to wait until next year before they enjoy the spectacle.
Sources said the registration work for the boat service is still pending with the Maharashtra Maritime Board, and won't be ready anytime soon.
Assistant Conservator of Forests Makrand Ghodke said the boats in which the tourists will be taken into the flamingo sanctuary have already arrived, but the registration work is still in progress.
Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar inaugurated the sanctuary in Airoli on April 30. Five days later, mid-day had reported that the opening of the up-close flamingo watch by speedboat might be delayed by a month. However, over a month on, zero progress has been made.
With monsoon expected to hit the city in the next two weeks and the birds set to take flight soon, services are unlikely to begin this year.
The news has left several nature and wildlife lovers disappointed. "I wanted to take my four-year-old son for a boat ride at the newly opened flamingo sanctuary, but I was told that the ferry services are yet to be operational. The authorities shouldn't have inaugurated the sanctuary if they were not going to start the boat rides soon," nature lover Darshan Dhoke said.
