Cyclone Nargis, one of the worst tropical storms to have hit Myanmar with more than one lakh people feared dead. The threat is not far away from India and can be real for our cities.

The head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations partly blamed the destruction of mangrove forests in Myanmar that served as a buffer from the sea. Now in India, environmentalists say, Mumbai faces a similar danger as the city has lost considerable mangrove cover.

''If a cyclone that hit Myanmar, hits Mumbai, the city faces far more danger because we have cut a lot of mangroves,'' said Dr Goldin Quadros, education officer, World Wild Life Fund.

In fact, experts say that over the last 30 years, Mumbai has lost of over 50 per cent of this unique eco-system. In 1975, the city had a cover of 50 sq kms of mangroves. Today, merely half of them are left.

Environmentalists allege that the politican-builder lobby systematically destroyed the mangroves.

''They don't allow the water to enter and gradually they begin dumping rubble around the mangrove, killing it and then they declare the land arid,'' said Dr Quadros.

But though urban planners agree a balance needs to be struck, they say the paucity of land in Mumbai is putting greater pressure on the environment.

''A lot of exaggeration is being done and developers are therefore being considered anti-development. But if you want Mumbai to be the financial capital of South East Asia, you cannot stop development,'' said Rajiv Mishra, urban planner, IAG Consultants.

''When it comes to a land parcel for development, the model that Mumbai has adopted is that of land sharing. You've got to give up something to get something. There is no clear thumb rule which says you've to destroy so much of environment to get so much of development,'' he added. 

Source:  NDTV.com