Articles by Jyoti Nadkarni

Over the years, the Kharghar Hills in Navi Mumbai, have seen many forest fires. According to the Kharghar Fire Station records, between 1st January 2022 and 11th September 2023, totally 164 calls were received relating to fire. Forest fires usually occur after the monsoon season, once the grass starts drying up. Interestingly, Navi Mumbai and the areas nearby are less likely to be affected by natural forest fires, as the temperature in the area does not increase too much.   Many of these fires are man-made, as are 90% of all forest fires. In Kharghar, the hills are characterised by…

International Mountain Day is celebrated on December 11th as a response to call by UNCED (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development). The aim is to raise awareness about the importance of the fragile ecosystems and to come up with different ways to sustain and prevent them from destruction of any kind. Forest, hills, plants and animals are my life. I was fortunate to grow amidst nature, wild animals and birds. Being a pahadan (the one who lives in the mountains), hills and mountains are in my blood. When I came to Kharghar in 2016, the hill, simply called the…

It's snake time of the year! Flower pots, piles of garden leaves, rubble heaps and discarded pipes are a few of the places where snakes feel safe. During the rainy season, they leave their often water-logged hideouts to get some warmth in the sun, which is why we're more likely to see them in our urban habitats at this time. We often see the staff of Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) working in areas where snakes are known to be found, and this was something that had been bothering us for a while. Whether sweeping the streets, or clearing the weeds…

It was January 2016. We had recently returned to India from Kenya, and were all excited to move into our new home at Hyde Park, Kharghar Sector 35. We had spent the previous couple of months visiting the apartment on and off from Mumbai where we were temporarily living. Away from the hustle and bustle, and surrounded by nature, this place was pleasantly different. Every time we approached the gates, we would see the tall green hills in the distance. A big pond lay behind the central jail and right in front of the apartments we would see this small…