Crocodile warning board to keep people away from Navi Mumbai creek

Following the rescue of a crocodile from the pond behind Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters in Belapur, the corporation has put up boards at the Sector 6 creek adjoining Palm Beach Road in Nerul, warning people to stay away from the water. The board is put up by the disaster management cell of NMMC.

“Though the crocodile was rescued and shifted outside the city limits, there is always a risk of having more crocodiles in the water,” an official from the disaster management cell said.

The board says that there is presence of crocodiles in water and hence one should not enter the water. In case of going by boat, one should not keep hands or legs under the water and also should not throw any food item into the water.

“The local villagers go near the creek for fishing. Hence, to warn those, we decided to put up the board. After the rescue, no other crocodile was seen in the pond but yet we cannot be sure if there are no crocodiles,” the officer added.

“There has been no study conducted in the Navi Mumbai area regarding the crocodiles in the creek and hence it is difficult to confirm if there are any more crocodiles or not. There used to be the sighting of one crocodile in Juinagar creek and people used to pelt it with stones. Prima facie, the belief is that it is the same crocodile that has been rescued recently. Even as the reptile is a female, it is difficult to find out if she had ever laid eggs. If at all there were any babies, it is difficult for them to survive in the creek. Babies can survive only in small streams,” Aditya Patil, president of Wildlife Welfare Association (WWA), which had rescued the crocodile, said.