In a city where the paucity of green and open spaces is felt most acutely, we have a special duty to preserve whatever little there is. It is shameful then, to read that the verdant 37-acre Maharashtra Nature Park (MNP) in Dharavi is being laid to waste, one sackful of scrap at a time.

A report in this paper stated yesterday that tonnes of trash have been dumped on a five-acre plot on the eastern boundary of the woodland. The trash comprises empty glass bottles, rags and plastic waste and over 90 truckloads of it will have to be removed to clear the land.