Tourists throng Pirwadi Beach in Uran, the only beach in Navi Mumbai, as winter sets in

With the arrival of winter, a large number of tourists from across Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane have started visiting Pirwadi Beach in Uran, the only beach in the satellite city.

Located at around 50km from Vashi and just 3km away from Uran city, Pirwadi Beach is known for its scenic beauty and peaceful surroundings. According to the officials from Nagaon gram panchayat, the local governing body here, more than 300 tourists visit the beach during the weekends.

Chetan Gaikwad, sarpanch of the gram panchayat, said, “The beach is around 2km long and it’s a very good hangout for people who want to enjoy a day. No one was coming here during the lockdown last year and earlier this year. With the drop in temperature, people have started coming in large numbers.”

There is a dargah on the one side of the beach and pilgrims including many from Raiagd visit it every year. The pilgrims from Thane, Mumbra and Raigad travel by bus. Those from Mumbai normally travel by boat from Bhaucha Dhakka at Mazgaon.

The beach is maintained by the gram panchayat and it has allotted a ghanta gadi and three people for lifting garbage. It has also installed several dustbins there.

Sudheer Mane, an activist from Uran said, “This beach is no less than those in Mumbai, Alibaug and Murud. However, many people from this region don’t know about it and thus don’t come here. The gram panchayat officials have maintained it well, but there are a lot of options to improve it. They may think of developing a few modern public toilets, changing rooms, seating arrangements among others.”

Gaikwad said, “The beach is close to the ONGC plant in Uran and we have been requesting them to provide some facilities from their CSR plans. We had a meeting with their officials last week too. We hope they will take a decision and do the needful soon.”

At present people from Navi Mumbai can travel to Uran both on NMMT and ST buses. From there, they can take autos and reach the beach in 10 minutes. With the completion of the Nerul-Belapur-Uran railway project (phase II), it will be more convenient to explore the beach and its surroundings.

Gokul Puri, a 37-year-old resident of Ulwe, said, “I had been to the beach last weekend with my family and friends, and we enjoyed there till evening. There are also a lot of stalls close to it and thus the tourists don’t have to bother about food. It’s a nice play to enjoy a picnic with family.”