NAVI MUMBAI: The city-based environmentalists have sent a strong reminder to the Maharashtra state authorities to ensure that the tidal water behind NRI Complex in sector 60, Nerul, is not blocked, in order to let the wetland birds like flamingos come back to this site.
The current water blockage there is also a CRZ violation, said activist Sunil Agarwal of Save Navi Mumbai Environment group.
"Natural tidewater flow has been blocked and fishing activities are pretended to be undertaken. The site never had fishing activities in the past. Flamingos regularly use this place to congregate and feed. However, the so-called fishermen are chasing the flamingoes away and are disturbing the wildlife," said Agarwal.
Activist B N Kumar of NatConnect Foundation informed that they have already written to the chief minister's office (CMO) and also the forest department, besides other agencies in order to save the bird-rich wetland area. "Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has promptly replied to our email, and directed the environment secretary and urban department secretary to look into this serious issue. The flamingos come here every winter; so it is unfair and illegal that the tidal water flow is being tampered with," said Kumar.
“It is high time that NMMC started seriously working on saving the flamingo destinations while chasing the Flamingo City dream,” Kumar said in his mail to the CM and NMMC commissioner amid renewed blocking of tidal water flow into the wetlands.
The state mangrove cell too evinced interest to conserve the two wetlands, along with Belpada, Bhendkhal and Panje wetlands of Uran, as per a BNHS plan to maintain them under the Thane Creek Flamingo Satellite Sanctuary project.
