In what can be termed as an important step taken by the Mangrove Cell, a cattle farm which had come up by encroaching on 2000 sq mtrs of mangrove land was demolished at Vashi.

The Mangrove Cell of the Forest Department had served a notice to one Pralhad Bhagat, a resident of Vashi village, who built a cattle shed and some other structures near a temple at Sector-6 of the Vashi node, said Range Forest Officer Sudhir Laxman Manjare of the Mangrove Cell, Navi Mumbai.

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Bhagat quickly responded by agreeing to bring down the structure on Friday, according to Forester MG Chavan. There were four cattle there and Bhagat shifted them to Vashi village. The area is now being cleared of all the debris that was dumped on mangroves to pave the way for intertidal water flow, so that plants can sprout again, Chavan said.

Appreciating the action, the NatConnect Foundation said there is a lot of encroachment on mangroves in the same area and officials must look into that as well. “With the threat of rising sea levels, it is important to protect and conserve all mangroves in the interest of the city,” NatConnect director BN Kumar pointed out.

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