Every single green patch in city is welcome

Before: Scrap littered the space at Wadibunder rail yard; (right) After: The mess gone, the area now has many sapling

An old dumping ground inside Wadibunder rail yard has now been transformed into a butterfly garden filled with hundreds of flower plants. At the same time, the Central Railway has also created a herb garden at CSMT and a Miyawaki forest at Kurla LTT.

A senior official stated in a report in this paper that this is a first-of-its-kind project and the concept of a butterfly garden has worked well. Done in coordination with an NGO, an old dump site was chosen, cleaned up and developed into this, he is reported to have said.

In October 2021, this paper had reported how a group of locals at Malabar Hill had converted a corner of a road, just outside a building, into an eye-catching garden. This was done with the help of the BMC. The dead-end which was used as a rubbish bin and scrap heap was brought to life through the Area Locality Management and civic authorities and turned into a pleasant green nook. It was very small but eye-catching. This is testament to what will and effort can achieve.

While the Railways and ordinary people are very different, this is a pointer that spaces can be transformed. Every inch is precious, especially in Mumbai with its paucity of space. Instead of rubbish dumps, gambling dens, corners for debris, these spaces can be turned into eye-catching green spots; and the city needs every ‘lung' it can get.

Led by people or organisations with vision, momentum and right direction can help change wastelands into little easy on the eye patches, welcome green dots in a concrete landscape.

This is a small but important way to contribute towards transforming the metropolis. A lot has to be done, but small starts, too, have to be made and people and organisations can do what is within their power to play a part in a welcome transition.