‘Trees cut by forest department to widen mud path’

The alleged cutting of trees in the forests around the popular Lodwick Point in Mahabaleshwar has raised the hackles of citizens of this hill station. The matter assumes importance in the light of the hill station being designated an eco-sensitive zone, along with its neighbour Panchgani, by the ministry of environments and forests (MoEF) in 2001.

President of the Hotels and restaurants association of Mahabaleshwar, Kailesh Tejani, an avid trekker, told DNA he had noticed that a large number of trees on the popular Dan-to-Beersheeba ride near Lodwick Point were hacked to make way for a 10-foot-wide track for horses.

According to Tejani, the ride was 2-km long from Lodwick Point parking area leading to the old Mahad Road, along the picturesque Koyna Valley. He said large trees with a diameter of 8-12 inches had been uprooted and destroyed by using excavators by the forest department.

“These indigenous trees are of the jambul, anjan and pisa varieties, which are slow growing and take close to 25-30 years to grow fully. It is criminal to destroy these beautiful trees in the Western Ghats,” Tejani said.

According to Tejani, the original path was 5 feet wide and was enough for walking and horse riding. “It has now been widened to 10 feet, which could encourage motor vehicles to use it. This will be disastrous. Such activity should be stopped immediately, otherwise all rides and paths will be widened and hundreds of fully grown trees will be destroyed,” Tejani said.
When contacted, range forest officer of Mahabaleshwar, SM Khot, refuted Tejani’s allegations. Khot maintained that the path was 10 feet wide to begin with. He said that only dry bushes and shrubs obstructing the horse-riding path had been removed. “There is no danger of cars using the path, we have dug 3-foot-deep ditches on either side of the track,” Khot said.

According to Khot, the Dan-to-Beersheeba ride was not being used by horses because of a heavy undergrowth. “Presently, all horses were restricted to the Lodwick Point and this was causing congestion. By clearing the path of its undergrowth, we have made it available for walks and horse rides. Tourists will enjoy the natural sights better now.”

Meanwhile, chairman of the high-level monitoring committee (HLMC) appointed by the MoEF, Devrath Mehta, showed concern on being apprised of the tree cutting allegation. He told DNA, “I have forwarded pictures of the forest destruction to the district collector of Satara. I have asked him to punish the guilty and also facilitate our team’s visit to the spot in the company of MoEF officials in early June.”