By year-end, take a walk in mangrove park at Gorai

Realising the importance of mangroves in balancing the city’s ecosystem — mangroves act as buffers during heavy storms and protect the coasts — the state development agency is developing the park on a five-hectare plot.

By the end of this year you could go for a walk at the mangrove park at Gorai-Manori.

HT Image

Realising the importance of mangroves in balancing the city’s ecosystem — mangroves act as buffers during heavy storms and protect the coasts — the state development agency is developing the park on a five-hectare plot.

This is part of the agency’s plan to develop a 137-hectare mangrove park in the area.

“Protecting and conserving the environment is as crucial as developing infrastructure. The mangrove forest is important for the ecosystem and this initiative is marked towards preserving and making people aware of this plantation,” said Metropolitan Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad.

Mangrove species such as Rhizophora Mucronata, Avicennia Marina, Salvadora, Suaeda, Sesuvium and Ceriops will be planted in five-hectare patches along the periphery of the 137-hectre land earmarked for the park.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has formed a core committee of experts in the field of conservation and regeneration of mangroves to develop this state-of-the-art park.

The committee members include Additional Metropolitan Commissioner S.V.R. Srinivas and experts Dr D.B. Chaphekar, Dr Sanjay Deshmukh and Avinash Kubal.