Mumbai: India’s First Mangrove Park Set To Open In Two Months

Mumbai, 27th March 2023: Gorai jetty, next to India’s first mangrove park, is set to welcome visitors in about two months. According to Devendra Bawdane, the project’s head architect, the substantial area of the mangrove marina provides immediate relief from the glaring March sun.

It starts with the wooden boardwalk that passes directly through the mangroves. The boardwalk ends in a watchtower with a bird’s-eye view of Gorai Creek and the city beyond it. Bawdane proudly declares Maharashtra is the only state with a specialised Mangrove Cell.

Clusters of fiddler crabs cling to tree trunks beneath the boardwalk where the high tide has created a shallow pool of water. The crabs will crawl into the mud flats when the tide goes out. Mumbai boasts the most mangroves per square kilometre of any megacity in the world—more than 50 sq km. Mangroves trap four times as much carbon dioxide as ordinary trees do and absorb humidity from the air. The city is firmly protected against storms and floods by these green soldiers.