I have shifted to Mantri Park area in Goregaon East a year back. Sadly I could not find a park nearby, where I may walk and breathe fresh air.In fact just a day after shifting to my new home, I fractured my right leg, so my move was restricte. From last one month I regained power to walk so I searched a wonderful walking place-a jungle trail reaching to the hill top, the trail start just 50 meter from my building. Yesterday I walked on this trail and overjoyed to breathe air in its purest form. It is a dense forest area where there is nothing comebetween you and mother nature. Hundreds of variety of trees, shrubs, creepers which attracts a number of rare breeds of birds, insects. Come rainy season, a number of falls cropped up enhancing the beauty of the area further.To me it is like heaven on earth.
But today while strolling on this hill trail, I realised that hell is created here by people living around Shiv Shahi, Nagri Nivara and other surrounding area, People come to party here in wee hours in the night and leave their filthy signatures in the form of empty mineral water bottles,, beer cans , whiskey cartons/ bottles, used filthy paper plates, packets of bhajia, also lot of chicken and biryani left over. There is a check-post where Guard is posted, but there seems to be no night patrolling to check this menace .
There is a table land just before the entrance of trail , from the table land you may spot number of sets erected in the facing long and wide valley called Film City.In fact this table land also attracts film fans who can not afford to visit Film City and want to take glimpse of it. The table land also used as parking lot for BEST and private Buses. Few route buses start from this spot. So BEST has a makeshift cabin on one corner of table land just on the entrance of jungle trail. The trail entrance has become a open loo ground for the BEST drivers and conductors.There is complete apathy on the part of BEST senior officials because if they have erected a cabin to monitor operation of buses here they wood have thought about a public toilet also, if it is not possible, they may think about a temporary makeshift loo cabin.The entrance of trail stinks so much that walkers have no choice but to put hanky on your nose while walking some 30 meter on the trail.
Also the start point of jungle trail has become dumping ground for garbage of nearby societies to make situation further worsen.There should be heavy penalty imposed on people dumping garbage here.
Believe me, had this kind of trail existed somewhere abroad, the civic and forest authorities would have created a wonderful place to walk and thus a tourist attraction.
There is a need for proactive action from authorities who own this part of land and initiate complete makeover of the area and maintain it thus provide a proper walking space for the residents who are so far devoid of a space for jogging and walking. On this one and half km long trail dustbins may be kept to put grbage to encourage walkers to drop waste there.
Now no authority can cry funds for this kind of initiative. Finds can be made available from Swachta Cess for making it as a model walking space.
.jpg "A Gumnam Actress Strips Nude to Protest Auto/taxi Fare Hike")
