MUMBAI, May 10 -- Nearly a year after it was declared complete, Mumbai's much-publicised mangrove park at Gorai continues to remain inaccessible to the public, with repeated inauguration delays triggering frustration among environmentalists, educators and local residents. Residents say the prolonged wait has deprived the city of a major ecological learning and eco-tourism space, particularly during the summer holidays when schools and students could have benefited the most. Touted as the country's first dedicated mangrove park, the Rs.33.43-crore project was envisioned as a flagship conservation and eco-tourism initiative aimed at familiarising visitors with Mumbai's fragile coastal ecosystem through elevated boardwalks, birdwatching facilities and interactive environmental education centres. Despite multiple announcements over the past year regarding its opening, however, the park's gates remain shut. MLA Sanjay Upadhyay, who represents the area, told HT that a final inspection of the park was conducted on Saturday and that the remaining finishing work would be completed within five days. "Very soon the garden will be opened after aligning everyone's schedules," he said. Spread across nearly eight hectares in Gorai, the project was formally launched in 2021 during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government when Aaditya Thackeray held the environment and tourism portfolio. The Maharashtra Forest Department's Mangrove Cell conceptualised and developed the project, with funding routed through the District Planning and Development Council (DPDC). The initiative also received Coastal Regulation Zone clearances from the environment department and was approved by the Maharashtra State Eco-Tourism Board as an official eco-tourism project. IIT Bombay was appointed as the third-party technical auditor to supervise its design and construction. Though originally scheduled for completion by January 2023, the project witnessed multiple proposed inauguration dates through 2025 before the opening was pushed further into 2026. Officials have repeatedly maintained that the park is fully ready for operations and that only inauguration formalities remain pending. At the centre of the project is a 740 to 750-metre elevated wooden boardwalk built through dense mangrove patches without cutting a single mangrove tree. The pathway takes visitors deep into the mangrove ecosystem before culminating at a viewing deck overlooking the creek....