Before it's too late

“Not many people in the city are aware of the fact that Mumbai is the only city which is lucky to have four rivers that start from one edge of the city and open at the Arabian Sea. They don’t know that names like Oshiwara and Dahisar actually come from rivers,” points out Paresh Pimpale, a member of Greenaiders, an organisation that blends running and environment awareness movements. Paresh and his group of environmental activists have organised a marathon run, which aims to create awareness about the depleting mangroves in the city. “It’s unfortunate that all these rivers, which originate in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, turn into gutters as soon as they leaves their premises,” he sighs.

According to Paresh, if people are not aware of such basic facts, it’s difficult to expect them to understand the nature and importance of mangroves in the city. “Mangroves are in the fringe areas of the city. They usually surround the shorelines and since they are wetlands, they are mostly inaccessible, citizens don’t value the forests,” he laments.

As an organisation, Paresh and his ‘greenaiders’ have organised awareness programmes targeted at the youth of the city. “We organise River Runs on the last Sundays of September each year (World River Day) to sensitise people about the said four rivers — Poisar, Oshiwara, Dahisar and Mithi,” he said.

Mangroves, he adds, are the soldiers of the city. “The mangroves protect the land from erosion and the sea from pollution. However, due to plastic, a lot of these mangroves are choking,” he further points out. He maintains that the mangrove regions are indeed the lungs of the city and that there’s a lot of biodiversity associated with the wetlands. “To give an idea, we must remember when tsunami had hit the Andaman islands, the islands surrounded by mangroves were less harmed than the islands that weren’t,” he remarks.

Speaking on the condition of the mangroves closer home, he says, “Currently, the mangroves in Dahisar region is at risk, especially the Ganpat Patil Nagar area. There are encroachments, and then due to vote bank politics, they are never rehabilitated.” Another important reason is the amount of debris that’s being thrown on the wetlands. “There’s a lot of concrete and discarded household stuff that are being dumped,” he says.

But citizens, he says, can play an important part in understanding and keeping the mangroves healthy. “They need not become activists. All they need to know is a bit about the mangrove forest around their neighbourhood because that is the primary concern. Then if they find any kind of encroachment or disposal, they should call on the help lines provided by the forest department — 1926, or the police help line. When one has to dispose concrete, one should try the BMC, because often the private contractors don’t use the proper disposal areas,” he says.

“And the most important part is to not throw plastics around the city because eventually they end up choking the forests. The idea is to realise that these are not just shrubberies that we can do without,” he concludes.