Push for open spaces for a healthier Mumbai

At a round table conference organised by the non-profit think tank, the Observer Research Foundation, on Wednesday to mark World Health Day, there was no talk of medicines or public health policy.

At a round table conference organised by the non-profit think tank, the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), on Wednesday to mark World Health Day, there was no talk of medicines or public health policy.

HT Image

Instead, the focus was on open and green spaces for a healthier Mumbai. This was in keeping with the World Health Organisation’s 2010 theme– urbanisation and health – which aims to highlight the importance of promoting health in urban areas.

“We want to present to the local, state and central government, a concrete, action-oriented report with findings and urgings to work towards a sustainable long-term effort to promote and conserve public open spaces,” said Sudheendra Kulkarni, foundation chairman.

“We will launch the ‘Mumbai on two feet’ project in Juhu that aims to connect the area’s disparate open spaces by walking and cycling on a 5-km path over the Irla nullah,” said architect, P.K. Das, who designed the Carter Road promenade.

Hutokshi Rustomfram, from the Save Rani Bagh Committee, spoke on the need to prevent the 140-year-old Byculla garden from being converted into an international zoo. “BMC’s plans will result in the loss of 1,100 trees.”

State environment secretary Valsa Nair Singh said, “We have started the Environmental Health Research Initiative to study three to four polluted areas in Mumbai. This will aid us in drawing government health policies for such polluted areas.”