Island turns into tourist attraction

Panju Island, a small piece of land in the Arabian sea, has zero-pollution, one of the best statistics with regard to sex-ratio, for the new generation cent per cent literacy and a unique piece of history. The island is located in the estuarine creek off Vasai in Palghar district and accessible from Naigaon. It is about a km away from the Naigaon jetty and by ferry it takes between 7 and 15 minutes depending on the tide position.

A keen observer while passing through the Western Railway bridge between Bhayender and Naigaon will spot the old bridge and below it  Panju Island. The bridge connects the Salsette island to Vasai. The island is spread over 600 acres dotted with huge patches of salt pans and fishing boats on the coast. Villagers own around 100 plus boats and they are mainly used for sand dredging or fishing.

The island got piped water in 1983 and power six years later. The island has crematorium, primary health centre and primary and secondary school.  Residents of the island are constantly following up with the officials on the government's promise of setting up a bigger hospital. The island has a few grocery shops and a vegetable market besides a fish market.

Before the Independence, people would drink water from the village pond. However, after Independence and urbanisation when the frequency of trains increased, water used to be brought in cans from Dahisar or Virar.

“Villagers used to request the motormen to slow down and stop for a few seconds over the bridge which touches a small portion of the island and the water cans used to be unloaded” says Prabhakar Moreshwar Bhoir, who was the sarpanch of the Panju village for 37 years and is still revered by the current population of 1,500 plus.

After the Maharashtra government imposed a ban on sand extraction, residents of the island started taking up other jobs.  Predominantly inhabited by the farming community, this place has a rich history.

A majority of people here have surname Bhoir and a few of them are Patils as well. “The government has to realise that we are also part of Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the development of Panju island is important,” Bhoir said. He showed voluminous correspondence right from collectors to chief ministers to prime ministers.

“There are several challenges as well,” says Ashish Bhoir, his nephew and the acting sarpanch of this village.

Legendary Maratha commander Chimaji Appa, the son of Balaji Vishwanath Bhat, the first Peshwa, and younger brother of Bajirao Peshwa, the second Peshwa, used to carry out monetary transactions from this island. He had wrested control of the Vasai fort from the Portuguese rule. From the southern shores of this island, one can see the ramparts of the Vasai fort. During the Independence movement, the place with a population of 300 had given 21 freedom fighters and a monument in their memory has been built near the jetty from the Naigaon side.

Almost every home has an idol or photo of Lord Hanuman, the presiding deity of the village, and the Hanuman jayanti and Ganesh chaturthi are the biggest festivals here, which even draw crowds from the mainland.

Kiran Bhoir, a youth from this village, who now stays in Virar, has new ideas for Panju Island. “There is lot of potential and it needs to be explored,” said Kiran Bhoir, the founder of KMC Holidays and Offshore. He had grown up in this village and had also served as police-Patil and now his travel and tour agency is in touch with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), to develop it into a tourism spot.

No pollution
“There is no motorised vehicles on the small island. Those owning motor vehicles park them near Naigaon. People use only cycles. There is no pollution. It is in the cradle of nature. When one travels in a boat from Naigaon jetty to Panju jetty a host of birds can be seen,” he said.

Kiran Bhoir is in touch with local people to transform the place. “In fact, I have conducted tours for foreigners here and they are delighted to see what is in store in Panju,” he said.

The power cables that come to the village come via the Western Railway bridge so does the water pipeline.  “Due to geographical conditions, it is a remote place. Though the Western Railway tracks cross through island, there isn't any means of transportation. Since Independence, villagers are fighting for a railway station,” Kiran Bhoir said. The boat services run every hour from 6 am to 10 pm and during monsoon from 6 am to 8.30 pm. 

According to him, once new avenues of tourism come, it can be a trendsetter. “We can take people around for fishing, bird watching, showing the ramparts of the Vasai fort from the Arabian Sea and so on. We can have a small nature park and an entertainment zone with different rides. Some small cottages can be planned and we can also start agro tourism,” he said.

“Now people go out for work in Naigaon and Vasai areas and some even go to the town. But if the generations ahead had to be strong financially tourism is the only option,” he said.

When the boat service stops in the night, people walk along the side of the tracks and reach the small patch which touches the island and enter the village. "There has been some incidents of chain-snatching and assault and hence people avoid taking that risk," he said.