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Miracle Park
"There is a web life.
We are a part of it"
When people come today to the Mahim
Nature Park (MNP) they find it difficult to believe
that, the forest they see
before their very eyes was once a city garbage dump. But
that is exactly what it was less than 20 years ago.Conceived
by the WWF-India in the
late 1970s, an area of about 37 acres in the "H" Block
of Bandra-Kurla Complex, which was earlier a garbage dump
or land fill, was decided to be ecologically restored and
developed as a Nature Park by MMRDA. Located on Bandra-Sion
Link Road and on the Southern bank of Mithi River (which
starts from Borivali National Park highlands skirting the
airport and meets the Arabian Sea at Mahim Bay and which
is one of the major drainages of Mumbai),this mini-forest
is nothing short of a miracle. Apart from being a vital green
lung for pollution-ridden Mumbai, the MNP also offers Mumbai's
citizenry a welcome change from the din and hustle of city
life.
Today experts from around the world visit the MNP to
study how so many trees could grow on a dumping ground used
for
decades by the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai. Naturalists
from the Bombay Natural History Society and the World Wide
Fund for Nature-India confirm that MNP plays host to about
38 species of butterflies and more than 80 species of birds.
What is more, as many as 200 tree species have been listed,
many naturally planted by birds and insects. When you walk
in the precincts of the MNP you will see numerous insects,
amphibians and reptiles and together with the many species
of fungi that thrive, the place has a feel of true woodland.
On
the periphery of the Park is, the Mahim Creek, which supports
a lush evergreen mangrove forest. This estuarine
vegetation and the surrounding mud flats are favorite roosting
spots for migratory and aquatic birds that winter in the
Indian subcontinent. Which is why the MNP has become a particularly
popular spot for birdwatchers from mid-October all the way
to February-March. Though the waters of the Mithi river are
very polluted, the MNP and the surrounding mangroves provide
resting spots for thousands of birds and on any winter morning,
with gentle mists rising, the surrounds provide an ethereal
visage for visitors.
For the development and management of
the Park, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority
has promoted a society, known
as Maharashtra Nature Park society. This society is responsible
for day-to-day management and activities of the Park.
The
Society has an apex body of "Board of Governors" of
which the Chief Secretary to the Govt. of Maharashtra is
the Presiden and the Co-President is Shri Bittu Sahgal. It
has a representation of several top government officials
as well as some eminent personalities from the field of Environment.
Thus the Government is working hand in hand with the scientific
community.
The Park Aims:-
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a) To provide the citizens of Mumbai
a quick change to relatively green and unpolluted area.
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b)
To educate the people, particularly children in Ecology
and
Nature Conservation.
The Maharashtra Nature Park has the
following facilities for conducting the educational
activities:-
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a) Audio-Visual hall
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b) Exhibition
hall.
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c) Activity spaces for conducting
various activities like nature games,
drawing or painting competitions, etc.
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d) Open air Amphitheatre
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e) library
of more than 500 books on nature and Environment
related
topics.
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f) Nursery for growing and sale of
plants.
Presently Maharashtra Nature Park has the following sections:-
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i.
Education Centre
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ii. Nursery,
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iii. Wooded Area Section,
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iv. Medicinal
Plants cultivation Section,
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v. Palm Section,
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vi. Fruit Tree Section,
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vii. Vegetable
Section,
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viii. Aquarium,
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ix. Bird Observation
Point,
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x. Vermicomposting demonstration Project.
Maharashtra Nature
Park is conducting following activities:
-
(i) Nature
Trail,
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(ii) Nature Games,
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(iii) Study of
Medicinal Plants,
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(iv) Bird Watching,
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(v) Seminars/Workshops/Lectures,
and
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(vi) Drawing and Essay competitions.
The Park visitors are provided a guide cum interpretation
facility on
request (for which an advance intimation is necessary).
Park
can be visited by anybody from Monday to Saturday between
0930 hrs. and 1800 hrs. (On Sundays and National Public
Holidays too visits are possible, but with prior intimation.)
For
group visit and further queries please contact the office
of the
Dy. Director, MNPS, Maharashtra Nature Park Society,
Maharashtra Nature Park,
Near Dharavi Bus Depot,
Opp. P.M.G.P. Colony,
Dharavi, Mumbai 400 017.
( 407 7641/407 9939. E-mail : mnps@bom7.vsnl.net.in)
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Mahim Nature Park
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