The recent hillslope crack at Tung
Activists highlight attack on slopes and trees to make second homes of the powerful; huge cracks open up in hillsides, pushing locals into state of fear amid rains.
Pristine Maval was once an escape from the grey of the city, replete with peace amid nature. These very enticements have today been exploited by the rich and entitled — with haphazard illegal developments killing natural environs. The eco-sensitive area has been ravaged mercilessly by farmhouses and villas of
business honchos and celebrities, allege activists — while the district administration slumbers.
With recent news of landslides and manmade environmental tragedies — including steep cracks on hill slopes — environmental activists are anxiously wringing their hands. The question is — “Will Maval be the new Malin?” (In 2014, Malin in Ambegaon taluka saw a mudslide kill over 200 people.) In 2018, activists had approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and expressed concerns over the disaster waiting to happen, but nothing other than a committee came out of it.