Thanks Viplav ji for this beautiful write-up; interesting (and alarming). Regards. Dinesh
On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 11:16 AM, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: > > In the mid-to-late 1950s, one of the most discerning field botanists to > have contributed to the flora of Mumbai, Gopalkrishna Shah (who would go on > to author the seminal Flora of Gujarat), carried out an extensive floristic > survey of the western segment of Salsette Island covering the region of > Madh in the suburb of Malad, North Mumbai, under the guidance of his > teacher Father H. Santapau. > > His efforts culminated in an impressive enumeration of 640 taxa (including > 71 grasses) belonging to 109 families & 401 genera. These numbers would > conjure up a vision of a lush type locality for the native flora of the > region and lead one to believe that Madh would surely be an important > fixture on the maps of nature lovers in Mumbai. However, the rich > biodiversity of the picturesque Madh Hill has suffered a surprisingly > severe neglect from naturalists in the last sixty years except for a rare > intervention from Santapau & Shah whose lament is documented in the opening > sentence of their paper on the flora of Madh: "Though many distinguished > botanists have explored various parts of Bombay, none seems to have paid > particular attention to Bombay and Salsette islands." [A Contribution to > the Flora of Salsette Island, Bombay (Malad-Madh Area) by H. Santapau & GL > Shah, JBNHS, vol. 66, no. 3, p. 430, December 1969]. > > The extreme severity of the crisis impending the flora at the time was > pronounced in their description of the habitat: "There is practically no > spot in the area, which has not been subjected to very drastic > deforestation; constant cutting of woody species, overgrazing on herbaceous > plants, and summer fires have all combined to turn the area into a very > poor type of Southern Moist Deciduous Forest..." [ibid.] > > These words bear an all-too-familiar ring even forty-six years after they > were written and the fate of the flora has undergone a fatal slump over the > years. A large portion of the hill is private property as of now and most > of the native flora, as old as the hill, has made way for concrete > edifices. What remains is fast being cleared by the incessant construction > mania. Also, Madh Island happens to be a popular destination for film & TV > shoots and much of the real estate in the region (including the hill) is > the property of film production houses or of those who lease out their > property for such ventures. The horrendous pollution ensuing from many a > shooting schedule has been thrust upon the forest with alarming regularity. > > The rash manner in which the character of a natural hill is altered has > been symptomatic of the degeneration of Mumbai's flora i.e. the large-scale > deforestation of the indigenous hilly & coastal flora for brick-and-mortar > urban development with a few native relics lingering anachronistically > amidst the intensive propagation of exotics. A naturally endowed city of > luxuriant hills, Mumbai succumbed to the lure of urban garden culture. > While the ancient Krishnagiri (Kanheri) Hill came to be protected within > Borivali National Park, the preponderant wild flora of several other hills > and *tekri*s in Mumbai (Cumballa Hill, Malabar Hill, Antop Hill, Pali > Hill, Sewri Hill, Madh Hill, Talzan Tekri etc.) has consistently knuckled > under the pressures of human exploitation, encroachment, quarrying, > construction and other commercial temptations. > > I started exploring the flora of Madh in September 2014 and my hopes were > dashed after witnessing the ravages but, in spite of the dreadful > deforestation, I've been compelled to revisit time and again only to be > captivated by the 'remnant' flora dwelling precariously in these hilly > slopes. > > Will share some of the unique observations and insights gathered from my > trespassing on Madh Hill so far in separate emails. > > Have attached a panoramic view of Madh from atop the hill along with some > images of tree-felling and pollution amidst the frantic construction > activity. > > Best wishes, Viplav > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "efloraofindia" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
