A massive debris mound has emerged  inside the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of Sanjay Gandhi National Park near Borivali East, triggering allegations of illegal landfilling, water extraction and an organised land grab attempt. (Pics/Ranjeet Jadhav)

mid-day.com got a special preview of India’s two 13.34-metre diameter Herrenknecht slurry shield tunnel boring machines — ‘Nayak’ and ‘Arjuna’ — ahead of their launch at the Thane Manpada site. ‘Nayak’, the first to be deployed, is set to begin boring on April 6 for the 11.84-km Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project beneath Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Once completed, the tunnels will cut travel time between Thane and Borivali to just 15 minutes. PICS/ASHISH RAJE