Two truckloads of trash collected from Karave creek

NAVIMUMBAI: TheKaravecreekin Nerul, which is a popular sight forwatchingflamingosandother migratory birds, was cleaned on Wednesday.Themovewasinitiated by students and locals who collected two trucks of garbage from the area.

Karavecreek,whichishometo around 80 species of migratory and resident birds including flamingos,sharesitsboundarywith plushhousingsocietiesofNerul.

“Asflamingosareseeninlarge numbersatKaravecreek,many bird enthusiasts and photographers visit the creek during this time.However,asalotofgarbage had piled up at the creek, we decidedtocleanupthearea,”said Manohar Patil, 49, a resident of Karave village.

Thecleaningdrivesawparticipation from around 300 people.

“Wecollectedtrashinbagsand asked the civic body to dispose them,”saidAkashVerma,afirstyear engineering student, who volunteered at the drive.

Villagers and volunteers are considering to regularise the cleaningdrivestoensurethehabitat of birds remains safe.

NAVIMUMBAI: A fire broke out in a mangrove area in Nerul late on Thursday.

The fire, which started in a pile of dry grass near the mangrove, was doused immediately by the fire officials.

DS Kukade, range forest officer, mangrove cell, said, “The fire was minor and did not cause much damage as it broke out in heaps of dry grass. After getting a call about the incident, we immediately reached the site and doused the fire.”

“Itisnotclearwhether thefire was deliberate or natural. As measures were taken in time, it didn’t spread much. The mangrove area remained unharmed,” said Kukade.

“We will conduct clean-up drive at the mangrove area, off Palm Beach Road, to ensure that garbage does not pile up there and trigger a fire,” he said.

The clean-up drive will be conducted at regular interval across mangrove areas in the city.

Kukade added that the area, where the fire broke out, belongs to City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco).

A Cidco official said, “The fire in the green area is unfortunate. We have installed notice boards and are also considering to fence the area with barbed area. The area is huge. We need to make people living around the area aware of the harmful effect of lighting up a fire.”

“Wewilltakehelpoflocalfishermen to reach out to everyone who frequent the area and take up awareness session,” he said.

Fire in green areas of Navi Mumbai is a frequent affair now.

Since the onset of winter, many fireincidentshavebeenreported in forest area.

Residents are afraid such incidents will repeat if action is not taken by authorities.

Sunil Agarwal, 55, a resident of NRI Complex in Nerul, said, “The fire was not a major one and fire officials promptly swung into action and doused it before it could spread. No mangrove was destroyed but it is alarming. Incidents like these can wipe out the green area if steps are not taken.”

In 2018, six fire instances took place in the area in December.