Palghar : Casuarina trees or commonly known as Suru trees dotting the Bhuigaon beach in Vasai Taluka have been severely damaged and almost uprooted by the severe tidal waves that hit them countless times during high tide.
Almost all the Suru trees, in the first row, which face the sea are nearly dead and could be uprooted any moment. This is the condition of more than hundred trees across the beach and nothing is being done by the concerned department. One of the solutions to this would be to lay a stone bed the way it has been done at Arnala beach to avoid the sea water enter the villages and cause floods.
If the Casuarian trees continue to disappear in such a manner, then it will only help the land mafia to take over the beach plots and exploit it commercially with no one to check them. In the past also, several Suru trees have been targeted by the land mafia by burning them and poisoning them. Since various modes of transport have brought Vasai Taluka,which is a tourist destination, closer to the neighboring cities, the tourism footfall has increased 5 fold. With larger number of people flocking the beaches in Vasai taluka, the demand for ‘beach space’ has only risen hence the easy targets have always been these Suru trees.
With government’s no-heed-policy attitude, the beaches in Vasai Taluka also foresee a similar fate as beaches in Mumbai.
Vishal Rajemahadik
