Nature retreat beckons Bandra’s birdwatchers

Nature retreat beckons Bandra’s birdwatchers
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Though the builder lobby seems to be doing its best to transform Mumbai into a concrete jungle; the Maharashtra Nature Park (MNP), an oasis of nature, still bestows a cosy haven for birds in the city. Situated across the futuristic business hub Bandra–Kurla Complex and the Sion-Dharavi Link Road, MNP is the fourth largest stretch of mangrove cover within Mumbai’ municipal limits. Not many know that MNP was a municipal landfill site, buried under tons of garbage, and touching a creek reeling under effluent. In 1983, the idea to transform the dump into a nature park originated, after which the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) approached the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - India to oversee the metamorphosis of the ground. Though it was not pleasant scraping through the huge garbage dump, and spreading soil over it, renowned ornithologist Dr Salim Ali planted the first tree kicking off the sanctuary’s afforestation. In the following years, several thousand saplings were planted and surprisingly no artificial fertilisers or chemicals were used in the transformation. In 1994, on the occasion of World Earth Day (April 22) — the MNP was opened to the public. Spread over an area of 37 acres, the MNP is home to 115 bird species, both common and exotic ones such as the Little Green Heron, which birdwatchers have sighted at least twice. The MNP has nearly 14,000 plants of about 300 varieties and 100 species of trees, including the baobab - of which there are barely 50 specimens in Mumbai. The green jungle also has area earmarked for medicinal plants from various parts of the country. Right in the centre of the park is a sun-shaped building, which houses an amphitheatre, a library, an audio-visual room, etc. Unlike other parks, a remarkable achievement of the park has been its ability to stop encroachments within its precincts. The park has crossed yet another milestone, with the launch of the rainwater harvesting project, which ensures nearly 25 million litres of water, which is collected from the surrounding landscapes during the monsoon. “The project is designed to collect 22,500 kilolitres of rainwater, making it independent of the municipal water supply. The water collected from the project is stored in an open pond, encouraging water birds and aquatic plants,” said Avinash Kubal, Deputy Director of MNP.
 
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