Sena (UBT) MLA demands tarred road leading to temple in national park

The Wagheshwari temple, which is in Ambapada, is deep within the forest and two kilometres from the Malad boundary of SGNP. If tourists or devotees flock to the forest, wildlife will be disturbed and instances of man-animal conflict will go up, warn environmentalists

MUMBAI: Even as the Shiv Sena (UBT) clamours for green spaces and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) to be saved, its own MLA Sunil Prabhu on Wednesday met forest minister Ganesh Naik to ask for a temple two kilometres inside SGNP to be declared a tourist spot and a tarred road to be built leading to it. Prabhu was accompanied by the priest of the temple who controls the trust.

Sanjay Gandhi National Park (Hindustan Times)

In one of his two letters to Naik this year, Prabhu had pointed out that there was a samadhi of Guru Bhaskar Das at the site and that Vageshwari Devi was the gram devi of Kurar village. He also mentioned that the temple ran a goshala there with 100 cows and attached a letter from Mahant Baba Ananddas.

The Wagheshwari temple, which is in Ambapada, is deep within the forest and two kilometres from the Malad boundary of SGNP. If tourists or devotees flock to the forest, wildlife will be disturbed and instances of man-animal conflict will go up, warn environmentalists.

After the meeting, Naik posted on X: ‘Sunilji Prabhu visited Mantralaya regarding the renovation of Shri Wagheshwari Temple in Malad East, beautification of the surrounding area, black-topping of the road, and declaring this area a tourist spot. Instructions have been given to the officers to take all necessary measures to rapidly develop this area and the facilities for devotees in compliance with the rules of the forest department.’

When contacted, Sunil Prabhu said, “I wanted this area to be developed as a tourist spot. I had asked Mangal Prabhat Lodha when he was the tourism minister but there was no progress on my request. Hence, I approached Ganesh Naik and he arranged a meeting. Former deputy mayor, Babubhai Bhawanji of the BJP, is also demanding facilities for the temple, but my demand is older.”

Environmentalist D Stalin of NGO Vanashakti emphasised that even Ganesh Naik did not have the authority to sanction a road inside SGNP. “These are well-planned attempts to perforate the forest and create a nuisance for wildlife,” he said. “There are enough temples on the periphery of the park. This demand is downright illegal and will be contested. I thought Aaditya Thackeray had more sensitivity towards the conservation of SGNP. It is shocking to see that his own party MLA is acting to the contrary.”

Earlier, the BJP-led government had demanded concessions for the Sadanand Balyogi Ashram on the Tungareshwar side of SGNP even when the Supreme Court had ordered its removal. Partial demolition was carried out after the court order. Over 20 years ago, the hillock adjoining Kanheri housed many babas, and the Bombay high court had ordered their removal.