Prime reason to protect Navi Mumbai wetlands

All praise for Navi Mumbai’s first-ever flamingo festival organised by a group of environmentalists, Navi Mumbai municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar has stressed that the wetlands must be protected.

Speaking as the chief guest at the event, Bangar said that the presence of a large number of flamingos is not incidental and it denotes importance of the huge biodiversity of the Navi Mumbai region.

The event was jointly organised by NatConnect Foundation, Kharghar Wetlands and Hills and Save Navi Mumbai Environment at Delhi Public School (DPS), Nerul, on the occasion of

World Migratory Bird Day.

Bangar said, “The city has now come to be known as a ‘Flamingo City’ and the festival will give it another identity. I appreciate the enthusiasm shown by students at the event.”

Clement Ben, additional principal chief conservator of forests (wild life)west, said, “The Flamingo Festival will go a long way in spreading the good word about preserving the fragile ecological balance. I hope that this will become a people’s movement.”

BN Kumar, director of NatConnect Foundation, said that the response was overwhelming and people from across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region evinced interest and visited. As many as 70 pictures shot by wildlife photographers and nature lovers depicting flamingos and biodiversity were on display.

Kumar described migratory birds as ambassadors of the environment and said the people’s involvement in conserving our wetlands must be strengthened. Sunil Agrawal of the Save Navi Mumbai Environment pointed out that the officials responsible for overseeing the environment must be made accountable. Jyoti Nadkarni of Kharghar Wetlands and Hills said the festival will be continued in the years to come.

DPS principal J Mohanty stressed the need for spreading environmental awareness among children so that they willberesponsiblecitizensof tomorrow.