Tag: SGNP

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Event

Silent event for silence at Sanjay Gandhi National Park

SGNP officials, school children, conservationists and volunteers stage silent event at SGNP entrance to demand silence zone at the Park.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It is an idea that needs urgent replication all over the country. A group of over 350 persons, comprising volunteers, school children, journalists, conservationists, bird and animal enthusiasts and more importantly, officials of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), participated in a ‘silent’ event to demand that SGNP be declared a silence zone.

The group met at the SGNP gates at 7 am on Sunday, April 27, and stood silently with placards for passersby to see. The campaign was aimed at spreading awareness that all parks and sanctuaries are hallowed grounds that demand silent appreciation from those who visit their precincts.

“SGNP woke to birdsong in the company of 350 kids, volunteers and forest officials, all gathered to express their silent support for Mumbai’s incredible forest and its wild denizens,” said Valmi Shah Shirodkar of Sanctuary Asia. “The Sanjay Gandhi National Park is Mumbai’s lifeline – it provides us with clean drinking water and invaluable climate control services. It is home to more butterfly species than the whole of the UK as well as free-ranging leopards and countless other mammals and birds. Having the park declared a silent zone will go a long way in protecting the forest.”

The campaign is jointly initiated by Maharashtra Forest Department and Sanctuary Asia. “The forest staff was led by Vinay Gupta, Director SGNP, and there were a host of NGOs, conservationists and journalists. [This is] the first silent event of its kind in support of a national park in India, and we fully expect that this quiet and peaceful demonstration will become a trend across India in the days ahead,” Valmi said.

Young children, some dressed as flamingos and miscellaneous birds, plus a host of volunteers, stood silently at the entrance of SGNP, on both sides of the forest access road, holding up placards for thousands of walkers to see. Later, all participants agreed that the morning provided great relief and contrast against the din and cacophony that engulfs their lives on a daily basis in Mumbai.

Other participants included Conservation Action Trust (CAT), PAWS, Sprouts, Eco Folks, Vanashakti and Valmiki Eco School.

(Picture courtesy Siddharth Mane)

Categories
Diaries

Borivli’s green retreat: Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Most of us have already been to the SGNP, but the beauty of the Park prompts one to visit again.
by Adithi Muralidhar

Part 2 of the ‘Green Hangouts’ Diaries

If you live in the western suburbs, you’ve probably visited SGNP (Sanjay Gandhi National Park) by now. One of a kind, this national park is unique, in that, it is situated within city limits. Supporting a healthy population of leopards, this national park is also home to over 50 other species of mammals, 155 species of butterflies, 65 species of reptiles and amphibians, 800 species of plants and over 250 species of birds!

The National Park sprawls over an area of approximately 103 square kilometers but more than half of it constitutes as core area where the general public are not allowed (which is a good thing). The park’s buffer zone has several nature trails like the Kanheri Cave trail, Shilonda trail that are open to the public who want to go hiking, rock-climbing or on a nature trip.

What’s so special? During the monsoons, the entire park sports a bright green shade and one can come across numerous insects and birds even while not attempting to actually look for them! SGNP is frequented by daily joggers and walkers from the nearby residential areas and also by schools who bring their students here for their ‘one-day-picnic’. One can even see the huge settlements of huts that have encroached the park from the borders. For people who are looking for a more ‘touristy’ experience, there are lion and tiger safaris at the Park, but one must realise that these large mammals are not found naturally in this park. Leopards on the other hand are natural inhabitants of this place.

Given the delicate situation with the park especially in terms living in close proximity of the elusive leopards, a project called “MumbaikarsforSGNP” was initiated which is a collaborative effort between the State Forest Department, Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS) of Bangalore, some members from the scientific community and a few conservationists which include some Mumbaikars. The main idea behind this initiative was to develop an alliance between the citizens of Mumbai and management authorities of the National Park.  They also have tie-ups with the Police Department and Fire brigade departments in order to tackle ‘leopard-emergencies’ more effectively.

Apart from being close to nature, SGNP also offers the visitor a rich knowledge of history. The Kanheri caves date back to the 3rd Century BC and they offer wonderful insights into theSGNP rich Buddhist culture of those times. The excavations at Kanheri are either chaityagrahas (place of worship of the Buddhist community), viharas (one or double enclosures where the Buddhist monks lived) or the podhis (water cisterns which were build to harvest rain water and use them during summer periods). You are also likely to find some rock-cut benches and /or seats.

SGNP is place for nature lovers, adventure lovers, as well as history lovers, and not to exclude the rest of the general public who just want to get away from the city life for a while!

Entry fees: You can also go to the Nature information Centre at the Park if you are looking for more information on the place. The entry fee for SGNP is as low as Rs 30 for adults and Rs 15 for children below 12 years of age. Additional fees are taken in case you want to take your vehicle till the Kanheri-cave parking area, or if you wish to do commercial photography or videography. The Park is open on all days, from 7.30 am to 6 pm. For more information, see http://www.mumbaikarsforsgnp.com/about_sgnp_information_for_tourists.htm

Getting there: The nearest railway station is Borivli station- East (Western line). The nearest bus stop is the Inter State bus stop (Kulupwadi), Sukarwadi bus stop, Omkar mandir bus stop, Borivli ST bus stand.

Adithi Muralidhar currently works in the field of science education research, in Mumbai. She is associated with Hypnale Research Station where she assists with various environment, wildlife conservation, education and community-related projects. She is a strong advocate of nature education.

Green hangouts is a series of stories celebrating Mumbai’s place in the green scheme of things, to coincide with Wildlife Week, which is celebrated from October 1 to 7 every year. 

(Pictures by Adithi Muralidhar. References: BNHS City Forest Report (2006), Avibase-The World Bird Database, The Archaeological Survey of India (http://asi.nic.in) and http://www.mumbaikarsforsgnp.com/about_sgnp_reports_articles.htm )

Categories
Big story

One more life lost to a leopard in Mumbai

44 km stretch of National Park is still being fenced; man-animal conflict continues with construction, hutments encroaching on forest cover.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

A little after 9.30 pm on November 2, Seeta Pange (50) stepped out of her house at Sai Bangurda at Maroshi Pada, Aarey Milk colony, to answer nature’s call. She did not return for a long while. Her worried family members then went out to look for her with torches and flashlights, and for a while, their search in the wooded area yielded nothing. Then they found her body in the bushes. Seeta had been mauled to death by a leopard.

This is the fourth case of a death arising from a leopard attack since August this year. As per a report in the Indian Express recently, ‘Attacks on humans peaked in the three years from 2002 to 2004 when 50 people were killed by leopards in Mumbai, 20 of them outside the park. There appeared to be a lull from December 2006 till last month, with no such deaths officially reported. There were reports that Sunny Soni, 5, who died in Aarey Milk Colony in May, had been attacked by a leopard but this was not officially confirmed. Beyond Mumbai, however, leopards have killed in rural Thane not only during this period but also after the latest confirmed death in Mumbai.’

The man-animal conflict at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), at the southern tip of which is the Aarey Milk colony area, has not abated since the year 2000. Leopards have been increasingly moving into human settlements as well, what with construction activities in the last decade steadily eating into the forest cover. Said Krishna Tewari, founder of the Forest and Wildlife Conservation Centre, with the green cover reducing in size, leopards strayed into areas that now house human settlements, and they were particularly prone to attack small children and people who fall in the animal’s line of vision, such as those crouching or squatting to answer nature’s call.

The SGNP has Mumbai suburbs on three sides and a Thane suburb on the fourth. There are 21 leopards in the Park area.

The solution

Barring access to animals straying into human settlements is the action plan being worked on at the moment. Forest officials say that the SGNP needs to be fully secured on all sides by a boundary wall or fence. At the moment, said an official, there is a natural boundary along at least 22 kilometres of the Park’s total 92 km periphery, hence the remaining 70 km needs to be fenced in two phases. Phase I is already underway,  with 40 km taken up under its scope of work, but the last 14 km is still in progress. Phase II has not begun yet.

Meanwhile, forest officials also put up cages at sites where leopard attacks occur. Two cages have been installed at the site where Seeta’s body was found.

 

 

 

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