Nagpur: In a major push to safeguard the nearly 300-year-old Amrai urban forest near Nagpur Airport, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) Standing Committee Chairperson Shivani Dani-Wakhare on Wednesday directed civic and Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) officials to strengthen security, improve infrastructure and enhance visitor amenities at the heritage green belt.
The directions were issued during a joint inspection and review meeting held at the Amrai forest, which stretches along the Sonegaon-Nagpur Airport road. The meeting was convened following growing public concern over deteriorating conditions, anti-social activities and inadequate civic facilities in the area despite repeated cleanliness drives by citizen groups and sustained media attention.
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Reviewing the existing arrangements, Dani-Wakhare instructed officials to expedite the installation of additional streetlights, improve road conditions, deploy adequate security personnel and install informative signboards to protect the ecologically significant forest.
Officials informed the meeting that around 30 streetlights have already been installed along the stretch. However, the Chairperson observed that dense tree canopies during the monsoon were obstructing illumination in several locations. She directed officials to undertake scientific pruning of overgrown branches so that the existing lighting system functions effectively and dark spots, which often become hubs for anti-social activities, are eliminated.
On the security front, the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has deployed six security guards working in three shifts to provide round-the-clock surveillance. A security check post has also been established at the Sonegaon entrance to regulate movement.
However, Dani-Wakhare said the present deployment was insufficient as the Amrai forest has three entry points, from Sonegaon, Nagpur Airport and the Engineers’ Co-operative Society. She directed that all three access points should remain under continuous surveillance and called for the deployment of six additional security guards to ensure effective monitoring and prevent unauthorised activities.
Expressing concern over reports of anti-social elements frequenting the area after dark, Lokesh (Loki) Totha, Team Lead of the Vrukshit Foundation, urged authorities to tighten security measures. Taking note of the concerns, Dani-Wakhare proposed restoring the earlier restriction on vehicular movement through the Amrai road between 10 pm and 8 am to discourage unlawful activities and ensure public safety.
To improve awareness and visitor management, MADC will install 12 signboards along the approach road to the forest. Apart from providing directions, the boards will carry messages urging visitors not to litter and encouraging conservation of the city’s historic green space. Officials said the installation work is expected to be completed by the end of the week.
The Standing Committee Chairperson also instructed civic officials to undertake repairs of the internal road network to improve accessibility for visitors while ensuring that development activities do not disturb the ecological character of the forest.
The inspection was attended by Laxmi Nagar Zone Chairperson Laxmi Yadav, corporators Amol Shamkule and Ishwar Dhengale, Assistant Commissioner Dhananjay Jadhav, Executive Engineer Ravindra Bundhade, MADC officials Suryashankar Sahu, Deshmukh, Ashish Naik, Shrikant Bhore and Vinod Chawla, along with Lokesh Totha and Yash Sarpotdar of the Vrukshit Foundation.
The Amrai forest, regarded as one of Nagpur’s oldest surviving urban green spaces, has increasingly become the focus of conservation efforts by citizens, environmental groups and civic authorities, who are working to preserve its ecological and historical significance while making it safer and more accessible for the public.
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