Despite Matheran’s protected status, waste is being burnt in the open, raising concerns among environmentalists. A Mumbai-based naturalist and photographer, Mahesh Yadav, who recently documented the scene, said fires were adding to local air pollution and could spark a larger threat to the hill station’s forested slopes.

On Saturday, Yadav, along with his friends Prabhu Swami and Kunal Chaudhari, had gone for a nature trail in Matheran, when they were shocked to see that the garbage was burning near a parking lot.