Mumbai: Deer spotted eating garbage from plastic bags dumped at SGNP

One of the pictures that were taken by an SGNP visitor

It seems that the state government's attempts to curb the use of plastic are not yielding the desired results. In a recent video that went viral on social media, a herd of deer was spotted eating from plastic bags dumped inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). What is more shocking is that a stray dog was also seen near the garbage.

According to sources, on May 12, a visitor clicked some pictures and took videos of a herd of spotted deer and a stray dog eating the plastic garbage inside the park. As he did not know whom to report the matter to, he uploaded one of the videos on his Facebook page and tagged Pawan Sharma, honorary wildlife warden of Thane and founder of NGO RAWW. Sharma took serious note of the matter and wrote a letter to Anwar Ahmed, SGNP director and chief conservator of forest, informing him about it.

Speaking to mid-day, Sharma said, "The forest department is doing their bit to stop people from carrying plastic products inside the park. I would like to appeal to all the visitors of the park that whenever you witness something wrong happening, please report it to the authorities concerned. If you don't feel like reporting it directly, then inform someone who can do it. I have already taken up this matter with the SGNP authorities, who have assured that necessary action would be taken."