Wonderful World of Birds: Over the Years

Friday, November 3, 2017

Over the Years

Kalwa residence

We shifted to our residence in Kalwa during the late 1990s. The building was new and surrounded by grassy, reed-covered fields. Parts of the surrounding area were water-logged and home to aquatic birds like moorhen, pond heron and egrets. During the monsoon, the grassland acted as a sump allowing the water to seep into the ground. The entire locality was sparsely populated. On a clear, sunny day the there was nothing to obstruct our view of the Nasik by-pass which ran alongside the water pipeline. Further ahead, no man-made structures intruded into our sight right up to the green hills of SGNP lining the western horizon.

Rains turned the entire area lush green, with pleasant weather and an atmosphere of clean and fresh air, free of dust. Towards the end of the monsoon, tall grass covered the marshy area, interspersed with blue-colored flowers (morning glory, I guess). At this time, small groups of men and women laborers set about clearing the overgrown grass and tall reeds, stacking it in bundles, to be peddled to middle-men or farmers who then transported it away in tractor-trailers. I suppose the grass and reeds were of great value in villages for use as cattle feed or replacing worn-out roofs of thatched houses.

Over the years, as the land (must have) changed ownership several times, the grasslands gradually reduced and the area was covered with trees and thickets of shrubs and weeds. As more buildings were constructed on vacant plots, the area lost its forested appearance. The mealy-bug infestation of rain-trees also caused a huge loss of tree cover on either sides of old the Mumbai-Pune road. Oddly enough, tree-cover on privately held land and in residential complexes increased over time. The trees planted along the Nasik highway have now grown and blocked our view of the road and hills. As traffic increases, I fear that these would hacked down for road widening projects. New, high-rise residential complexes on Ghodbunder road and Saket-Balkum road are now visible in the background.

Our quiet residential area is today right in the middle of a busy intersection. A 90-foot road lies next to our building complex. The traffic noise level in night is almost unbearable with incessant honking and two-wheelers speeding around with specially designed silencers.
To add to the congestion, work on a poorly designed “joggers-lane” was initiated just before the local elections in 2017 (need I say why? to fool the voters of course..) and then abandoned, draining the exchequer of lakhs of rupees. At night, trucks and buses are parked on both sides of the road forcing pedestrians to walk on the road.

Can degradation of nature be reversed?

Maybe not. However, the governing authorities and political leaders must show great maturity and leadership skills to increase green cover and combat effects of climate change to reverse or at least prevent further degradation. As responsible citizens, we can bring about change by taking up these issues with local corporators, some of whom are quite dedicated to their jobs.

Here are a few pictures taken over the years.

Year 2008