Borivali National Park & its poor animals. Review on Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai

Borivali National Park - I present you the other side of the story.

On a hot summers day in May 2005, I decided to visit the famed Borivali National Park. Coming towards Borivali on the Western Express highway, I took a left from under the Borivali East bridge to enter the famed “National Park”. Entry fee is Rs 20 per adult. If you have a vehicle then there is an extra charge for parking. (God forbid if you are a foreigner – you would be fleeced for nothing.)

When you arrive at the so called “Tiger sanctuary” you have to shell out another Rs 30 per head for a 15-minute ride in a mini bus. (Private vehicles are not allowed within the enclosed wild life sanctuary.) First, you are taken to a tiny man-made pond filled with stinking murky green water. I saw what I thought were two local dogs cooling themselves in that stinking water. The excited shouts of the co-passengers made me take a second look at the animals and I realized I was looking at two very frail looking white tigers. Good God! They had such a pathetic look on them as if the say “please do something for us, we are dying”. They seemed too weak even to move an inch despite the bus having stopped just meters ways from them. Since the water was to murky I could not see if the legs of the poor tigers were tied… for I wondered how it was that the bus driver knew these two would be here…

The bus moved on and five minutes later, stopped by the road side. We saw two ancient looking lions more dead than alive apparently fast asleep under a tree. Closer inspection revealed two freshly made round puncture marks on them - like the kind you will notice after an anesthetic dart had been fired at them. Are these “sightings” staged? The bus moved again and five minutes later we were back at the park office. That’s all you get for your 30 bucks. When I asked the driver how many such trips these mini buses make in a day, he said “Bees.. tees..chalis” (20,30 or 40) Each bus carries about 40 passengers.

I went on to visit the Kanheri caves and noticed buildings, hutments and all sorts of other man-made structures within the National Park. While some of these structures belong to forest officials who are supposed to look after the National Park, others belong to people who it seems, lived here long before this land was declared a National Park. In either case, they look rather unsightly and I would not be surprised if some years into the future, the number of these man-made structures exceeded the number of trees in the National Park.

The road leading to Keneri caves was made many many years ago and it looks as if it was never re-paved or repaired. If you are historically inclined, the Keneri caves are worth a visit. After buying a ticket for Rs 5 (if you are a foreigner be prepared to pay Rs 100/- you can sue the government later for discrimination), make sure you also buy a small booklet titled “Guide to Kanheri Caves” for Rs 15/- from the cold drink vender. The booklet provides information on the structures you are about to see. Without the book, you wouldn’t know a Stupa from a Vihara and the government as usual, probably hasn’t a clue either. There is small board with some sparse material on it regarding when these caves were constructed. That’s all that the government Pundits seem to have found out or deemed fit to inform you.

So was the visit to the Borivali National Park worth it?

Yes, because I am now forewarned. I should not take any of my relatives to visit the famed National Park. Had I not gone there myself, I would have at some point in time, taken my visiting relatives and friends to the National Park and what an embarrassment that would have been.

Should you visit the National Park?

You decide! You should visit only if you intend to see for yourself how pathetic men can be. We call ourselves supreme. Personally, I would have liked to stop all human entry into the park. It is clear to me that the poor animals (wonder how many are actually there), are traumatized daily for our benefit. The fat fees collected go directly to paying the fat salaries of the forest officials. Since these officials want more people to visit the park, more madness is inflicted on the poor animals.

“When the buying stops, the killing will stop” With regard to the Borivali National Park (and I suspect other wild like sanctuaries too), I am tempted to add “and when the visiting stops, the animals will be left alone”

Also read my review titled ''Murud - how to get there and what you need to know''. (Search for Murud under Travel category.)