Green Earth Movement

'Karnala sanctuary faces threat from fibre plant'

Pointing out that the plant will produce harmful gases like sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, environmentalists said that this could have serious repercussions for the birds in the sanctuary. Environmentalists and bird enthusiasts from the Watchdog Foundation will submit a memorandum to the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) on Monday in this regard.

"Any plant or factory that is likely to produce harmful gases and is coming up within a 10-km radius of a wildlife habitat requires specific permissions. Excess of these gases in the atmosphere results in acid rain. It may even acidify the water in the sanctuary and kill insects, which are consumed by the birds. All this will threaten the very existence of the birds," said Godfrey Pimenta, president, Watchdog Foundation.

Among the birds regularly spotted in the sanctuary are paradise fly catcher, magpie-robin, Malabar whistling thrush, racket-tailed drongo, golden-backed woodpecker and crested serpent eagle.

In 2009, the standing committee of National Board for Wildlife rejected a plan to add two more lanes to the four-laned portion of the National Highway which passed through the sanctuary.

"We need to demarcate buffer zones and eco-sensitive areas around sanctuaries. The Wildlife Board of India needs to give a clearance for this fibre plant," said D Stalin of NGO Vanshakti.

"We are not against development, but have valid concerns and will press for the relocation of this plant to save the birds," said Pimenta.

Winged Wonderland

* The Karnala bird sanctuary, located in Panvel taluka of Raigad district, is home to 147 species of resident birds and 37 species of migratory birds during winter

* Two rare birds -ashy minivet and heart-spotted woodpecker-have also been sighted here

* The sanctuary is also a home to two endangered species -long-billed vulture and four-horned antelope

Plant Problem

* A viscose staple fibre plant is coming up just 1.5 kms from this sanctuary

* The plant will produce harmful gases, like sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, which this have serious repercussions on the future existence of birds in the sanctuary, said activists.

By Chaitanya MarpakwarChaitanya Marpakwar, Mumbai Mirror | Jul 13, 2013, 12.54 AM IST

The civic authority on Friday reversed its order on restricting the number of banners at Ganpati mandals during the 10-day festival, disregarding citizens' concerns about cluttered roadsides. Aweek after setting a limit to two banners per mandal, the BMC has now given the permission to organisers to put up multiple hoardings up to 100 metres on either side of the venue. Organisers can also install banners outside the l00-metre limit, but they will have to pay more.

There is, however, a rider: hoardings, inside or outside the 100-metre limit, can only be advertisements of sponsors' products or services. Political banners and messages will not be allowed. "The banners are meant for sponsors, and they are the only source of income for mandals. This is the reason we decided to withdraw the order of restricting two banners per mandal," said Mayor Sunil Prabhu.

The BMC announced the restriction on July 6, but immediately faced pressure from Ganpati mandals. Organisers met top civic officials several times over the week to press the BMC to withdraw the rule. The Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti, the umbrella organisation of Ganpati mandals in the city, remonstrated about the issue with the mayor and Additional Municipal Commissioner Mohan Adtani, which finally led to Friday's U-turn.

Mirror has repeatedly raised the issue of uglification of the city's roadsides. The efforts forced the BMC to come up with a new policy for hoardings, especially political ones. The number of banners in the city increases significantly during the Ganesh festival. According to an estimate by the civic body, 1,000 banners come up in every ward, many of which are illegal.

On the last day of the festival in 2012, authorities pulled down 3,192 hoardings, out of which only 41 were legal. Until last year, the BMC charged Rs 125 per hoarding within 100 metres of a mandal and Rs 101 beyond that. This year, the regular rate of around Rs 300 per foot will be charged for all hoardings outside the prescribed limit.

"On the pretext of the festival, political parties deface the city with hoardings every year. There are no restrictions on the number of banners," said Makrand Narvekar, a citizen corporator from Colaba. "The BMC surprised citizens when it announced the two-banner limit last week. But it has gone back to its old policy."

He said that the BMC should at least ensure that no political banners come up near Ganpati mandals. Meanwhile, the president of the Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti, Narendra Dahibavkar, said that mandals should not be prevented from putting up banners as they were the sole source of income.

"Organisers always take permission from the BMC before erecting banners and also pay required charges," he said. According an estimate, mandals earn Rs 1 crore through banners every year. The civic body, however, only earns Rs 10 lakh in form of licensing fee.

Gagangiri Enclave, comprising eight buildings, has a huge ground and a spacious community hall. But three years back, the three housing societies issued an order barring children from playing in the ground and using the community centre as play area. The societies wanted to turn the ground into a lush, landscaped garden.

While there is still no sign of a garden, the children have been left with just a tennis court which has gutters running on both its sides as their play area. Since the tennis court is too small and the gutters stink, the kids often end up pitching their cricket stumps on the road outside.

In April this year, the children came together under the Gagangiri Youth Club to fight for their right for a playground. Ironically, the fight ranged some of them against their parents, who held office in the governing bodies of the three housing societies. But that has not deterred the children. "The fight is not against any individual.

On June 30, the kids wrote another letter. This time the tone was sterner. "We have the biggest playground among all the housing societies in Kalyan and yet we are not allowed to use it. We have to play on the roads outside like street urchins. We have literally begged for action on your part and are yet to receive any communication, written or verbal," the letter said.

When this letter too did not elicit any response, the kids on Tuesday approached the cops. "The elders keep telling us to not play at all. We are kids and we need to play. This time we will not stop till we get a proper play area assigned," said 12-year-old Vinita Bhatia, who was present in the police station on Tuesday.
Some parents, however, are with the kids. P GKrishnamoorthy Setty, an IT consultant, has supported the kids in their struggle. "The kids deserve a proper play area and we have enough space for it in our complex. It is about time that grown ups start behaving like adults," said Setty.

Motwani admitted that the three societies will no longer be able to ignore the children's demand. "The community center is used for classes which are of interests to residents. As and when it is vacant, we have instructed the guards to let the kids play. But sometimes the kids fight and the place is shut. As for the ground, again the problem was the frequent fights between kids. We have now decided that the tennis court area will be repaired once rains are over. The kids have woken us up and we will soon set things right," he said.