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Tryst with
Nature
Nisarg Niketan
is an eco-friendly agro-rural tourism centre .It
is a beautiful farm site,accessible by rail,road in about 2 hours
from Mumbai and Pune.It
has a thrilling restless river attached to it where a supervised
swimming event can be done.
For those of you, weary city
folks longing for a short weekend away from the hustle and bustle
and stress of Mumbai and who can not afford to go on a long holiday
(due to paucity of either time or funds), there is a lovely place
nearby which would rejuvenate you and recharge your batteries for
the next week.
Nisarg Niketan is a beautiful
55-acre farm, run by an enterprising couple Anuradha and Shekhar
Bhadsavle. This is located a few km. from Neral Station on the East
side from where you can get a lovely view of a section of the Western
Ghat Range starting from Nakhinda to Peb Fort, continuing onto Panorama
Point and Mount Barry on the Matheran plateau. Mr. Bhadsavle is
a B.Sc. in Agriculture from Dapoli who did his Masters in Food Science
and Technology in USA and then came back in 1977 to start this activity.
This farm is bordered on three
sides by the unpolluted curving Ulhas River (a far cry from the
filthy river downstream from Badlapur onwards). The activities consist
of growing fruit trees like Mangoes (Ratna and Kesar varieties),
Elaichi Bananas, Papayas, Guavas and Chikoos), doing Aquaculture
i.e. breeding three types of fishes, Rohu, Katla and an Israeli
fish, Tillatia besides fresh water king prawns. They also have a
small in-house dairy, gobar gas plant and a bit of horticulture
plus growing vegetables and rice. Aquaculture activity is being
carried out by building six artificial ponds occupying seven acres.
They even have a small sawmill, which manufactures pieces of furniture.
Recently Novartis, the famous Multinational Company has taken on
sub- lease five acres of land for conducting experiments on Hybrid
varieties of rice,as of now there are 2000 such varieties being
grown under the supervision of an experts stationed there permanently.
A few years back, this innovative
couple decided to promote Agro-Rural Tourism and to that end, they
constructed two cottages having a capacity of 4 persons each plus
four dormitories, which can accommodate upto 10 persons each. It
has proved very popular with tourists who want to get away for a
short while from the city life but at the same time would like to
experience a holiday, which is a little different from the usual
resort-type tourism. This farm is ideal for those who want to be
close to nature and who would like to spend quiet moments with themselves
as the vast area allows ample scope for wandering into the wilderness
away from the main area where most of the people tend to congregate.
A bonus for avid nature lovers would be sighting a variety of birds
like Golden Oriole, Pond Heron, Cormorant, Little and Median Egrets,
Cattle Egret, small Green Bee-eater, White Breasted Kingfisher,
Rose-ringed Parakeet, Magpie Robin, Little Dove, etc. On a clear
night, one can observe various stars and planets through a telescope,
which is also available for astronomy lovers.
The charges are quite reasonable.
A package from Saturday morning to Sunday evening consisting of
lunch, evening tea, dinner, overnight stay, next day breakfast,
lunch and evening tea stay costs Rs. 500/- per person. If one decides
to go to the farm in the afternoon after lunch, the cost will be
reduced to Rs. 400/- per person(Rates May have changed so they vary).
The meals are generally vegetarian and extra charges would be recovered
for non-vegetarian dishes. Full day package, morning to evening
would cost Rs. 250/- per head. 50% concession is given for all school
students in a group to promote awareness about and love for nature
amongst young minds. Another delightful experience would be to have
Anuradha and Shekhar Bhadsavle accompanying for dinner or any of
the walks inside the farm and sharing their vast knowledge on the
various activities carried out in the farm. Last but perhaps the
most enjoyable part is to go for a bath or swim in the placid waters
of Ulhas River. Its quite a different experience from the chlorinated
swimming pools we frequent in the city!
So folks, why wait? Pack your
bags and head this weekend (you can enjoy this package on week days
also) towards Nisarg Niketan for a true TRYST WITH NATURE.
HOW TO REACH THERE:
By Road–Mumbai–Panvel(49
km)–Chowk Phata on the NH-4(17 km), Turn left to Karjat(8 km.)-Neral
Ambika Naka-Railway crossing(14 km.)-go on Kalamb Road beyond big
Bridge(4 km.) – Turn left to Malegaon (1 km)and on to Nisarg
Niketan.
By Rail-All local suburban
trains to/from Karjat stop at Neral Station. There is a pick-up
facility available if informed in advance or one can take an Auto
Rickshaw to the farm costing Rs. 40/- or upward.
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