Sewri Settlement Studies

WETLANDS, MUDFLATS AND MAHUL CREEK

Wetlands are basically dynamic landforms that keep changing from a state of being present and disappearing mainly because they are dependent on the movement of the tidal waves.

Mudflats are areas of flat empty land at the coast which are covered by the sea only when the tide is in. Mudflats are formed by the deposition of mud, silt, animal detritus and clay due to tidal activity.

Creek is a narrow piece of water where the sea flows into the land.

IMPACT OF HUMANS ON THE NATURAL FORMS

1) Mudflats being destroyed and flamingos being driven away due to construction work.

2) Mudflats are under threat from predicted sea level rises, land claims for housing and development, digging and dredging for navigation and chemical pollution.

3) Wetlands provide economic benefits to mankind through fishery production, maintenance of water table for agriculture, water storage and reduction of natural hazards like floods and drought.

4) Wetlands also contribute to shoreline stabilization, water disposal, and water purification and are very popular recreational areas.

5) Proposed infrastructural changes including the major proposal Mumbai Trans Harbour Link will cut the Sewri wetlands into two pieces causing the fragmentation of the wetlands ecosystem.

- Across the maps we can see the creek closing and the land joining together

- The joining of the land was due to creation of reclamation centres

- Jawahar Port at Nava Sheva began- 1989

- Ship breaking activities near the Port needed more land hence slowly the land got reclaimed

- Development projects like Ajmera, Bhakti Park emerged on the creek thus closing up the water body which reduced wetlands

- Construction of Trans Harbour line which has begun is affecting Mudflats in the Sewri- Mahul region.

Wetlands define the state of wetness as being continuous - so through the section we are attempting to show how this entire part is basically just varying degrees of wetness throughout the year - the creek being the most dense considering its all water.

We move from a hard edge of the fort which has basalt rock as the base to the salt pans and then the wetlands and marshier areas which have mangroves in abundance-

We took reference from the Mumbai port trust committee report for depths of the soil layers for the section.

Notified three decades ago, the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules aimed to keep coasts free from construction, to protect traditional livelihoods of coastal inhabitants and to preserve the fragile marine ecology. The zone included intertidal areas as well as a 500-meter landward stretch beyond the high-tide line. It also included 100 meters on both sides of rivers, creeks and backwaters that experience the tidal effects of the sea.

Spaces that are closest to the coast and most ecologically sensitive – such as open seafronts, wetlands, mudflats, or mangroves – were classified as CRZ-I, and no new constructions were permitted within 500 meters of the high tide line in these areas. CRZ-II referred to areas that have already been developed close to the shore, such as fishing villages, and the norms restricted development only up to 100 meters of the high tide line.

The latest section is based on imagery from 2021 and we've tried to make sense of the site through the pictures by placing it according to the elevation profile of the section line we cut- which cuts through the fort , wetlands, mangroves , creeks and the BPCL on Trombay island.

Story of Mumbai's Eastern Edge

Please Checkout Link Below For The Project :

https://sites.google.com/sea.edu.in/story-of-mumbais-eastern-edge/home