BMC plans walkway, mangroves along Mithi river

Design includes jogging track, viewing gallery; 25 trucks of debris cleared from site, work fast-tracked

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will construct a walkway along Mithi river and plant mangroves at the mouth of the river as part of its efforts to transform the area into a tourist attraction. This is a part of the BMC’s plan to create a pedestrian walkway connecting Siddhivinayak temple to Bandra reclamation.

Municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi visited the site where Mithi river meets the Arabian Sea at Mahim causeway on Friday, and directed the H west ward office to clean the riverbank and plant mangroves

Municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi visited the site where Mithi river meets the Arabian Sea at Mahim causeway on Friday, and directed the H west ward office to clean the riverbank and plant mangroves. The civic body plans to construct a promenade that will run alongside the mangrove trees. The design includes a jogging track and a viewing gallery. A similar walkway will be built along Poisar river.

Pardeshi said, “This is part of our plan to ‘socialise’ mangroves and make them an integral parts of citizens’ lives. This will make sure they are protected.”

Sharad Ughade, assistant commissioner of the H west ward, under whose jurisdiction Mahim causeway falls, said, “The plan has many environmental implications. If this area is cleaned up and preserved, it will be easy to replicate it along the banks of the river at a later stage.”

“We have been asked to fast-track the work and inform the mangrove cell as soon as we are done with all work,” he said, adding that the BMC has “a detailed plan” for mangrove plantation at Mahim causeway. “Once ready, it will look beautiful along the promenade and along the road,” said Ughade.

Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray coordinated a joint meeting between Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and the BMC on Monday, as MSRDC’s help will be needed to develop the area around Bandra reclamation for the pathway. Thackeray said, “We are ensuring pedestrianisation from Mahim causeway to Siddhivinayak temple, as [it is] the cultural spine of Mumbai, as along the pathway we have multiple religious places, memorials of legends and the Shivaji Park.”