National park to fight litter on Mahashivratri ……….Mansi Choksi | TNN
Mumbai: Mahashivratri is a day of significance, when the devotees of Lord Shiva absolve themselves of their sins through dedicated worship. But who is to pay for the crimes against the environment that result from thousands trekking to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park to visit the numerous temples inside the protected forests?
From flocking to the Kanheri caves (many interpret the Buddhist stupa of the caves as a lingam) to other illegal shrines (complete with cemented rooms and bathrooms), the national park has been steadily put upon.
On this Mahashivratri on February 23, things will hopefully be different. More than 200 wildlife enthusiasts from the Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG), Conservation Action Trust (CAT) and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), have decided to maintain a vigil to ensure that there is no litter trail left behind. The volunteers, some of whom have taken a day off from work, will assist the forest department in ensuring that the forests aren’t reduced to a picnic site.
They will be armed with whistles and posters in regional languages to spread awareness.
“Crowds get into the forests and gamble, drink, litter and also deliberately set off forest fires. There were hawkers selling food and balloons, it had basically become like a mela,’’ said Debi Goenka of CAT. Since Mahashivratri used to be holiday for forest officials, it was left to the police and the Archeological Survey of India to discipline the crowds. But that changed after the 1997 Bombay high court order that no commercial activity would be allowed in the park.
In 1998, the forest department got together with NGOs and other agencies and institutionalised the Mahashivratri vigil. Goenka said that until a decade ago, the devotees would rack up to 2,00,000 people, but the numbers have significantly reduced. “We just removed the fun element. We didn’t stop people from coming in but hawkers were asked to leave and parking for private vehicles was stopped. Volunteers confiscate plastic bags, noisy instruments and lighters,’’ he said.
Dr P N Munde, conservator of forests and director of the SNGP, said that on Mahashivratri entry would be allowed only from the main gate at Borivli and only between 7.00 am and 4.30 pm.
Although the BMC will look after garbage disposal and the police security, the 104-square-km park could do with more volunteers. “There are several entry points and many devotees get in and walk right to the interiors,’’ said Tejal V of the NGO Hope.
KANHERI DAY OUT: An army of 200 volunteers with loud whistles will ensure that the caves are not carpet-bombed with plastic