The nature trail at Malabar Hill is becoming a new favourite spot for tourism in the city. The elevated walkway has seen around 1.95 visitors in last four months, generating a revenue of almost Rs 40 lakhs to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Managed Entry to Ensure Sustainability
The 750 metres long walkway traverses within Malabar Hill Forest, starting near Kamala Nehru Park, was inaugurated by the BMC on March 30. In the first 48 hours itself, the walkway had 3411 visitors. However for crowd management, the authorities allow only 200 people per slot of an hour. Per visitors is charged Rs 25, while foreign citizens are charged Rs 100.
The wooden walkway gives an unhindered view of the Arabian sea, has bird watching zone with a glass bottom a viewing deck. The green project by the BMC immediately appealed to the public who book the slots 15 days in advance.
As per data provided by the BMC, the Malabar Hill Nature trail saw a total of 1,55,842 visitors till June 30, which earned the civic body revenue of Rs 39,44,650. So far in July, approximately 40,000 people have visited, generating revenue of approximately Rs 1 lakh.
The visitors recorded in June and July are comparatively less than April and May, which the officials attribute to monsoon season. However, there have been several cases that visitors have to return due to no advance booking. To address this issue and meet the demand by the public, the civic body is likely to roll out a dedicated WhatsApp number for on-spot booking for the Malabar Hill Nature trail. As of now, people have to book the advance slot via https://naturetrail.mcgm.gov.in/ website.
Slot Bookings in High Demand
The elevated walkway is open for visit from 5 am to 8 pm. The slots on weekends are never underutilized, official say. The wooden walkway is inspired by Singapore’s elevated forest walkways, also known as ‘nature trails'.
Month-wise breakdown:
Visitors in March 30 and 32 - 3441
Revenue- Rs 89,025
Visitors in April - 51,597
Revenue - Rs13,10,025
Visitors in May - 55,319
Revenue - Rs13,96,400
Visitors in June - 45,515
Revenue - Rs11,49,200
Visitors in July so far - 40,000 (approximately)
Revenue - Rs 10,00,000
