Click to play videoMumbai is flirting with danger by cutting down the Mangrove forests along the coast and destroying the city's first line of defence against surging tidal waves. On World Environment Day we tell you how neither the government nor the corporation is doing enough to protect them.
Mumbai: Are the towering pillars of the Bandra-Worli sealink, the Haji Ali Dargah or even the business district of Nariman Point in Mumbai in imminent danger?
Will the rising temperatures and the rising seas change the Mumbai coastline in the next eight years? Before you even begin to answer these questions, just remember that we have eight years to prevent a catastrophe.
“Climate rise will result in an increase in rainfall pattern and also coastal cities like Mumbai will be affected to a great extent by an increase in sea-level,” says Climate Expert, Green Peace, K Srinivas.
So even a degree increase in temperature could mean a corresponding seven metres increase in water levels.
“As temperatures rise even 1.5 degrees, it causes a beta rise in water levels too which could be to therefore coastal cities like Mumbai and Chennai face a direct threat of submerging in 10-12 years. Measures like dykes, de-silting etc are only temporary measures. The need is for long-term measures to arrest the temperature rise below two degrees,” says Srinivas.
It's mangroves then that provide a natural buffer especially in coastal cities like Mumbai. But with agencies designated to guard them not specifically doing much, the result is illegal encroachments and dumping of garbage on the natural environmental guardians.
“Look at the debris, thermocol and stuff that have been dumped here. How can someone do this? Also considering this is the only breather that this large city has,” says Environmentalist, Rishi Aggrawal.
Supriya Popli, a student in Mumbai adds, “This is an eco system that we need to protect as it acts as a natural buffer. Even when the tsunami occurred, many parts of our country were protected by mangroves.”
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