Mumbai: Residents and environmental groups in Mumbai have planned a peaceful citizen march on Friday evening to raise concerns over the reported impact on nearly 45,000 mangroves due to the proposed northern extension of the Mumbai Coastal Road between Versova and Bhayander.The event, titled ‘March for the Mangroves’, will be held on March 6 at 5 pm at Turzon Point in Sector 8, Charkop, Kandivli. Organisers said the march aims to bring together residents, environmentalists and civic groups to express concern over the potential loss of mangrove cover linked to the project.Participants were urged to attend with friends and family and invite NGOs and environmental groups to join the march.Residents said the march is intended to be a peaceful demonstration in support of protecting Mumbai’s mangroves and green spaces, which play a key role in the city’s coastal ecology and flood protection.While approximately 60,000 mangroves fall in the influence zone of the Mumbai Coastal Road (North) project, around 45,000 are being impacted. Of these, around 9,000 mangroves will be permanently cut. The infrastructure project, estimated to cost the corporation over Rs 20,000 crore, will pass through an alignment area of 103 hectares.Mumbai Coastal Road (North), or the Versova Dahisar Link Road (VDLR), is a 22-kilometre alignment that includes roads on land, elevated sections, roads on stilts, a cable-stayed bridge, and a cut-and-cover tunnel beneath a creek.Compensatory afforestation for all the impacted mangroves will be done on a land parcel in Bhayander, located on the outskirts of Mumbai. Apart from this, a non-forest area in Chandrapur along the Tadoba forest will also be taken up for plantation, which officials said would be in addition to the compensatory plantation being done at Bhayander.
