Tourism in Matheran, the hill station in Raigad district of Maharashtra is likely to be hit in months of April and May as hundreds of structures will be demolished for flouting norms.
Around 400 structures which will be demolished include properties such as illegal hotels, resorts, and VVIP bungalows, reported Mumbai Mirror. The demolition drive is likely to begin in next couple of months
To provide enough police security at the demolition sites, Raigad district collector Vijay Suryawanshi has asked the Matheran Municipal Council chairperson to submit a schedule.
In 2017, the National Green Tribunal had refused to allow structures higher than ground-plus-one will not be allowed in Matheran. Meanwhile, starting March 30, the Central Railway (CR) will ply additional toy train services on the 21-km-long Neral-Matheran and Aman Lodge-Matheran routes whose infrastructure on the hilly terrain has undergone strengthening.
This is a step towards an attempt for making this 111-year-old toy train into a heritage rail for which the authorities have taken help from the world heritage Kalka-Shimla toy train rail. There shall be 21 services on Fridays, 22 services on Saturdays and Sundays and 17 services on Mondays on the 3-km long Aman Lodge-Matheran section. During weekdays between Tuesday and Thursday, there shall be 14 services on the above route.
(With input from DNA correspondent)
