Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park May Get A Ropeway For Tourists Over Its Core Zone; What We Know

Mumbai’s Public Works Department (PWD) is now planning a ropeway project around Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Mumbai. The ropeway will pass over the core zone of the national park, which houses thousands of wild animals and has been an off-limits zone for decades. Here’s what we know about this project.

Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park May Get A Ropeway 

According to Hindustan Times, the ropeway project will connect Mulund to Borivali to promote tourism and attract more visitors to Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai. The ropeway will carry passengers in chairs suspended from steel cables supported by a series of towers. Plus, the most interesting part is that it will pass over the core zone of the national park, which is home to thousands of wild animals like leopards, deer, nilgai, wild pigs, crocodiles and peacocks.

This zone has been off-limits to visitors for decades. If the ropeway project gets approved, visitors will be able to see animals safely from a distance. If the PWD proposal is passed, towers will be erected in SGNP’s core zone.

Reportedly, in 1991, Maneka Gandhi, who was the Union Minister of State for Environment at that time, stopped the entry of cars and the public into the core zone. This is why wildlife has flourished here, and Sanjay Gandhi National Park is home to over 54 leopards.

Also Read: ₹70 For Mango? Woman Claims Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park Has Overpriced Fruits

Project To Move Ahead Only After Approvals 

However, not everyone is keen on a ropeway project over SGNP’s core zone. According to Hindustan Times, environmental activist D Stalin of the NGO Vanashakti wants a ropeway to be built on the periphery of the forest instead of over the core zone. According to him, animals are very sensitive to movement around them, and a ropeway will stress them.

It should be noted that the plan is still in its planning stage and will move ahead only after certain approvals. Sanjay Gandhi National Park is located right inside the city of Mumbai and covers 103 square kilometres. It is home to many animals and birds, even though it is surrounded by city buildings.

Also Read: Assam Wildlife Season Begins: Manas & Kaziranga National Parks To Reopen On…

Have you ever visited SGNP in Mumbai?

Cover Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons/Sobarwiki

Ashmeet Guliani | Content Writer

Ashmeet Guliani is a Content Writer at Curly Tales with over three years of experience writing about food, travel, fashion, and lifestyle. With a B.Sc in Home Economics from the University of Delhi, her interest in reading and writing led her to pursue a career in writing. In her free time, she explores cafes, browses bookstores, listens to Hindi retro songs, and watches K-dramas!