For all those who have chosen to make Panvel and beyond their homes, there is a definite advantage — the place is clean and beautiful. On the one side is the sea and on the other, the remnants of the glorious Sahyadri. During the monsoon, the entire area looks very beautiful, with patches of green becoming bigger and colorful flowers bursting into blooms.
“During the ongoing lockdown, the one business that saw growth is the roadside nurseries. As people are forced to spend their time indoors, they are spending more time tending to their terrace gardens. During the lockdown, more customers are coming and even their average spend is bigger than before,” says a nursery owner at Sector-8.
The roadside nurseries that dot every nook and corner of this sprawling township continue to escape the notice of lockdown enforcing agencies as the shopkeepers normally stay in shanties next to their plants spread on the footpath. And, nobody seems to mind their flowery presence.
With the onset of monsoon, various government and non-government organizations have taken up plantation drives in the city. In the playground near Sector-8, tree saplings have been planted around the periphery. Most of the road dividers in the city have seen tree plantations by CIDCO’s horticulture department. Sahyadri
But what can make your walk on a rainy and breezy day a special experience is the wild growth of vegetation and little sweet flowers blooming from the most unexpected places.
“Living in the city in a mostly home-to-office existence and we have long forgotten our links with nature. In this backdrop, it’s sheer pleasure to watch the monsoon and the wonderful change that it brings about in our surroundings,” says a resident who manages to reach the Park in Sector-9 every morning despite the strict lockdown.
I love the ordinary tiny flowers the most. I don’t know their names. The blossoms are beautiful and inviting. Walking along the footpath and watching the greenery and flowers is my favorite during morning walks, he explains.