Versova residents defend mangroves……..Sandeep Ashar
MUMBAI: Frustrated by an apathetic government and pitted against a relentless land mafia, more and more Mumbaikars are taking up cudgels to protect the city`s greenery.
The latest to join the green brigade is a resident`s association in Versova, Andheri, that has decided to set up a security cordon around the mangrove cover in the area. The New Yari Road Residents` Association, whose members include denizens of the film and corporate worlds, has deployed private marshals to check reclamation of the rich mangrove belt in the area.
The association says it decided to take matters into their own hands because of the repeated attempts by land sharks to appropriate the mangroves. Shashi Ranjan, a filmmaker and the association`s president, said the official machinery was unable to keep away encroachers despite several complaints from the area`s residents. “The civic body undertakes demolition drives after getting complaints, but encroachers reappear in a day or two.”
Besides slum encroachments, residents say, there have been increasing instances of illegal debris dumping in the area, allegedly at the behest of land sharks. Just last month, the Versova police confiscated nine trucks and arrested their drivers after they were caught dumping construction debris on the green patch. The arrests were made following an alert by the residents` association.
The private security deployed by the association will be responsible for keeping a round-the-clock vigil around the mangroves. Ranjan said the guards have been asked to alert residents and the BMC as soon as any fresh attempt to exploit the green space is detected. “Since it is public property, the guards cannot take action against the culprits on their own,” Ranjan clarified.
Civic authorities welcomed the initiative. “It is difficult for us to patrol the site all the time. Deploying civic marshals is also not possible as the mangrove area falls under the jurisdiction of the collector`s office. The citizens` initiative will increase vigil and help curb encroachments,” said assistant municipal commissioner Ramesh Pawar.
To bolster the citizens` move, Pawar said the BMC will undertake demolition drives against encroachments in the area. The civic body has also decided to develop an adjoining plot into a garden.
Residents complained that the construction of hutments on mangrove area is a major bane. Shanta Rao, an association member, said the hutments resurface after every demolition drive. “On October 20, the civic body demolished some shanties, but, like in the past, many of them resurfaced.” Ranjan explained the decision to deploy private security guards was taken after the last demolition drive and the subsequent resurfacing of the shanties.