THANE: Thousands of
devotees are expected to flock to the numerous Shiva temples in
Yeoor forest range on the occasion of Mahashivratri next Tuesday. To keep the premises clean and fire free, the Thane forest department is gearing up to strengthen their
vigil and safeguard the eco zone.
Over the past few years, devotees visiting these temples have ended up leaving piles of plastic food wrappers and waste in the green zone. In order to put an end to these issues, the forest department will be initiating a day-long drive and restricting entry to the temples after sunset.
NGOs and volunteers will be roped in to hold strict vigil to make sure that devotees refrain from taking plastic and combustible items in the forest, the forest department has already chalked out the Mahashivtri plan for this year.
"The entire green zone in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, including the Yeoor and Tulsi ranges, come under eco-sensitive zones, and need to be protected from destruction and pollution. We have delegated our 36 foresters to different parts of the ranges and roped in over 50 volunteers belonging to different NGOs to participate in our vigilance drive," said S Waghmode, range forest officer, Yeoor.
The team will be spread across different parts of the forest- namely the Pakkad Baba temple area, the Gaikwad Baba area, the Phadkacha Pani area, the Bhoir Baba area and other areas. "We have seven participating NGOs from Mumbai and Thane, whose volunteers will frisk the green zone and seize all match boxes, tobacco packets, plastic bags and other items which could pollute the forest area, or cause any fire. The vigil will start at 6am and wind up by 7pm. All the waste collected will be given to the TMC waste collection van," said Yaman Tatre, founder of city based Animals and Plants Welfare Trust.
Meanwhile, another set of forest staffers will monitor the rest of the Yeoor forest range.
