Gorai mangrove park in Mumbai may open in 10 to 15 days after six-month wait

The Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Mangrove Park at Gorai in Mumbai, also known as the Gorai Mangrove Park, may finally open to the public. A senior Forest Department official said the park is likely to be inaugurated in the next 10 to 15 days, provided everything goes according to plan.

The park has cost Rs 33.43 crore and people have been waiting for it for a long time. It has been more than six months since it was ready for inauguration. Once it opens, visitors will be able to walk on an elevated boardwalk through the mangrove forest and learn about coastal biodiversity.

According to Forest Department sources, N R Praveen, head of the Mangrove Cell, visited the park recently and inspected its condition. The sources also said officials want the park to open before Diwali, so that schoolchildren can visit with their families during the holidays. BJP MLA Sanjay Upadhyay said, "The Gorai Mangrove Park will be inaugurated as soon as possible."

More than six months have passed since the work on the park was completed. It is the first open park of its kind in Mumbai, yet its gates have not been opened to the public so far. The delay in the inauguration has been attributed to administrative reasons. In March, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray wrote to Maharashtra Forest Minister Ganesh Naik demanding that the park be inaugurated soon.

The park spreads over 8 hectares at Gorai. It has a 740-metre boardwalk, and no mangrove trees were cut to build it. A guided mangrove trail with trained naturalists will be available.

There is also a bird observatory for watching coastal and mangrove birds. A touch-based VR system giving information on mangrove flora and fauna has also been installed. The park is an eco-tourism project approved by the state's eco-tourism board. It aims to raise public awareness about mangrove biodiversity and its conservation. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 33.43 crore.