Please help save a Botanical Garden
"Alarmed at the recently publicized plans for the so-called makeover of Jijamata Udyan, Mumbai better known as Rani Bagh we, a group of Mumbai citizens and nature lovers, have formed an action committee to create awareness and oppose the proposed plans of the Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to convert a green haven into a concrete amusement park as per a Rs.433 crore contract with HKS Designer and Consultant International (a Thai-based Malaysian company) and the Portico Group (US).
Many of us are dedicated conservationists involved with environmental groups as volunteers and resource persons conducting nature trails and a host of nature education programmes.
The 53-acre Rani Bagh, currently both a botanical garden as well as a zoo, was established as a public botanical garden in 1861. It was only later that the animals were moved in. In a city choking on noxious fumes, Rani Bagh functions as a vital green lung and is one of the last remaining vast, tree-covered expanses with affordable pubic access in the island city.
We exhort the authorities to stress the botanical aspect of Rani Bagh among the visiting public and raise its level up to environmentally-accepted international standards. We further request the Municipal Corporation and the Central Zoo Authority to harness Rani Bagh’s vast natural resources to educate the common public about its rich heritage.
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and sign the petition here
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