‘Uran mangroves ideal for Bollywood’s desert locations’

Bollywood film-makers need not go as far as Rajasthan or Dubai for shooting on desert locations, instead, they could do so at Uran’s mangroves, said environmentalists in a sarcastic letter to the Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association (IMPPA). Lush green mangrove zones have now been turned into massive deserts and sprawling wetlands have turned into barren lands at several places, the environmentalists said.

“With concerned authorities remaining unconcerned over the relentless destruction of the fragile biodiversity, Bollywood producers might as well make use of the man-made deserts and barren lands for their shoots,” said BN Kumar, director of NatConnect Foundation. “This is no exaggeration as innumerable complaints to the government and the orders from the environment department and even the high court-appointed wetlands and mangroves committees have not yielded any results to save nature in Uran,” he said.

“The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), which has all along been neglecting the environment, might as well be the nodal agency for booking film-shoot sites,” said Nandakumar Pawar, head of Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishtan.

Priya Ratambe, CIDCO public relations officer, said, “CIDCO is committed to preserving the environment and all efforts have been made in this regard. The allegations are baseless and all notified wetlands and mangroves are being protected as per orders of the authorities and rules and regulations governing them.”