Random Ramblings

The Sanjay Gandhi National Park is divided into two parts by the Vasai creek, and the Ghodbunder road that runs along its southern bank. This modern road, recently widened to handle the heavy traffic crossing over from the Eastern Express highway to the Western Express highway and vice versa, is probably a descendant of the land route between the ancient ports of Sopara and Kalyan. Of late, the uncontrolled development of the area along Ghodbunder road threatens to overrun the borders of the SGNP. However there are still some relatively unspoilt and scenic stretches along the road, especially as you move away from Thane

The section of the SGNP that lies to the north of the Vasai creek is called the Nagla block. The entrance to the Nagla nature trail is easy to miss, if you don't know where to look. There is a small tribal village just off the Ahmedabad highway on the east side, a few hundred feet from the Vasai creek bridge. The trail begins here and climbs steadily upward for a while. There is a gully that, I was told, becomes a gushing stream during the monsoon. Later there is another small stream flowing right along the path, which leads down towards the creek. Our group unfortunately decided to turn back at this point, so I couldn't go all the way down to the creek

Our group leader told me that although one can see a few flowers along the trail just after the rains, SGNP generally is not a great place for flower photography, and especially not in November. But I did manage to get a few good pictures, thanks to the guidance of some senior photographers in the group. Also there were many butterflies and dragonflies, spiders and mantises, and even a few reptiles to be seen. I even spotted a monkey, probably a langur, jumping from branch to branch high in the trees. All said and done, it was an interesting trip and one I would like to repeat next September, when there would hopefully be more flowers around

Mumbai is one of very few large cities in the world having a national park within municipal limits. Notified in 1974, the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) is a rare green zone in the concrete jungle that is Mumbai. Even this green lung is increasingly being developed, in the guise of improving living conditions for the few adviasis who have traditionally lived in small padas within SGNP limits. The fact is that most new constructions in and around these padas are resorts being constructed by influential politicians for the enjoyment of wealthy businessmen. There is also the growing influx of migrants into these villages, which further endangers the flora and fauna of the Park

Though some part of SGNP lies on the mainland of Thane district, most of its area falls within the island of Salsette (with some part in Greater Mumbai and the rest in Thane district). There are two main entrances for visitors - at Borivali and Thane (Yeoor). The former is mainly for tourists wanting to visit school picnic favorites like the Krishnagiri Upavan or the Kanheri caves. The Yeoor gate on the other hand is favored by morning walkers and nature lovers. The Yeoor walking trails, beginning with the metaled road leading in from the main gate and going deep into the forest, are a pleasure to walk along. Both in September-October (post monsoon) and in January-February (the beginning of spring), I have seen and photographed a wide variety of picturesque flowers

The area in and around Yeoor village has probably seen more land grabs than perhaps anywhere else in SGNP, including a resort that is favoured by MNC IT companies for outbound team building programs. Though to be fair to the said resort, they have not overdone the concretization and have developed some beautiful flower gardens and lawns on their property. But any development within a national park is still undesirable as the exotic trees and plants brought in for the resort can have a negative effect on the local flora. One hopes the forest authorities will take some concrete steps, no pun intended, to stop any further damage to the tropical rain forest ecosystem that is the SGNP