Thane’s largest biodiversity park to soon be thrown open to public

Representational image

The construction of Thane’s largest biodiversity park, which has been made on a dumping ground between Thane jail and Saket complex, is 80% complete and will soon be thrown open to public.

The project was inaugurated earlier this year by the social forestry department and the then collector Ashwini Joshi.

The main aim of the project was to beautify the dumping spot and provide citizens with an open space for recreational activities. In addition, it would also help conserve the environmentally significant Thane creek.

The deputy director of the social forestry department S Phale said, “A major part of the project is the plantation drive which includes the butterfly garden, mangrove walkway, cactus garden, medicinal garden and plant nursery. We are planting around 35 species of plants and have already kept around 1,000 saplings in the greenhouse set up in the first phase. We have also dug pits to plant these saplings. This turned out to be a challenge as we had to dig out the waste plastic embedded in the ground and fill it with fresh soil. We have been waiting for the rains so that these saplings have a healthy growth. A plantation drive will be held on July 1.”

The project, which has cost the department as estimated Rs 2.5 crore, is expected to be completed by September-end.