The land where the fire erupted falls under the eco-sensitive zone and is adjacent to Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). | X/@GreenStalin
A major fire broke out on Dindoshi Hills, opposite Infinity IT Park in Goregaon East on Sunday at 12.14 am. The blaze had spread to around 1.5 km area of the hill and was confined to the herbs, shrubs and trees. Although the fire was extinguished at midnight itself and no injuries were reported, the environmentalists are up in arms after the incident. The land where the fire erupted falls under the eco-sensitive zone and is adjacent to Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP).
Director of NGO Vanshakti, Stalin D alleged that the fire at Dindoshi Hills was not an accident or natural but was deliberately ignited to kill the vegetation near SGNP to allow the land for commercial use in the near future. The section of the land that caught fire is private land with a wall dividing it from the forest land of SGNP. Stalin on Sunday wrote to the Maharashtra Forest Department, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Mumbai suburban collector and other authorities seeking an investigation into the Dindoshi fire incident.
Alleging that the blaze was set manually by the private developers, Stalin in his email to the authorities wrote, “The last fire at Dindoshi Hill was reported in October 2022 and we had complained about the same. Just as the forests had begun reviving, yesterday night a massive fire was set off by the persons who are in the possession of the land. M/s Ferrani Hotels, M/s DB Reality and the Nusli Wadia Trust are the entities that are responsible for complying with the inherent responsibility to protect the hill range from degradation.”
Stalin said that the environmental violations on the land are well documented in the joint committee report submitted to the National Green Tribunal. He stressed that there have been incidents of tree felling and fires in the past, and FIRs have been registered against unknown persons.
Speaking over the issue, an officer from the Mumbai Fire Brigade who was on the site said, “The fire had confined to the shrubs in multiple sections. It is possible that due to wind the blaze was confined to the shrubs at a distance, but the possibility of the fire ignited manually cannot be denied. As per the preliminary investigation, no person was seen on the site before the incident, however, a detailed investigation will reveal the exact cause of the fire.” The officer added that as the fire engines could not reach the spot due to uneven hilly patches, the fire was extinguished manually by beating.
Demanding a detailed investigation into the incident, Stalin said, “We urge officials to undertake a detailed site inspection with environmental experts and fire investigators to ascertain the factors that have resulted in yet another fire at Dindoshi Hill.”
Box- A minor fire broke out at Heera Panna Shopping Centre in Haji Ali on Sunday. The blaze had engulfed two closed shops and smoke was logged in the ground-floored shopping centre. “The fire erupted around 9.09 am and four fire engines, three jumbo tankers and an ambulance were rushed to the spot. The fire was confined to electric wirings, electric installations, clothes, wooden furniture, glass cabinets, documents, shoes, stock of perfumes, mobiles, etc. in shops no. 11 & 12 on the ground floor,” the statement by BMC said. The fire was doused at 12.52 pm and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
