Mumbaikars will soon be able to visit Mangrove Park in Gorai

In a big leap towards conservation, a Mangrove Conservation Centre and Mangrove Park would come up in Gorai in the suburbs of Mumbai.

The Mumbai Mangroves Conservation Unit (MMCU) of the Mangrove Cell would lead the project.

It would be spread over eight hectares and built at a cost of Rs 26.97 crore.

The project is expected to be completed by January 2023.

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“Mumbai is the only megacity that has over 50 km of mangroves stretch. We are committed to its conservation and to the creation of awareness of this natural wealth. Furthering this goal, we commenced works for the first-ever mangrove park in Gorai,” Minister of Environment, Tourism and Protocol Aaditya Thackeray said.

The project has been conceptualised on the themes of attracting, engaging and educating various stakeholders of the society.

The main aim of developing a Mangrove Park at Gorai is to educate the citizens of Mumbai about the significance of the mangrove ecosystem and to make the visitors understand the importance of the mangrove ecosystem.

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The components of the park include a Nature Interpretation Centre (NIC), a Mangrove Trail along with various Pause Points, a Bird Observatory, a Kayak Trail connecting the Pause Points through the Mangrove Trail and the development of a dedicated app-based destination information System.

The park will offer a Touch-based Information System with information in virtual reality on the flora and fauna of mangrove ecosystems.

The Mangrove Trail comprises an 800 mts long walkway, proposed for taking visitors right into the mangroves.

The project has been approved by the Maharashtra State Eco-Tourism Board and has been designated as an ‘Eco-Tourism Project'.

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It has been granted CRZ clearances by the Environment Department and is being funded by the DPDC of the Mumbai Suburban district. IIT Bombay is being appointed as the third-party technical auditor for the project to ensure proper design and construction of the same.

Visitors to the Mangrove Conservation Centre and Mangrove Park can understand how a mangrove ecosystem is beneficial to us, the need to conserve the same and the measures and policies for mangrove conservation. The project is designed such that there will be no mangrove tree cutting.

This will make people help contribute to the ecosystem in a positive way to conserve the mangroves.

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