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Juhu wants ‘lake’ back
Initiative to restore water body to address flood problem gets a push…….Linah Baliga
Suburban collector Vishwas Patil has supported a citizens’ initiative to restore the Juhu lake in JVPD and Pawan Hans base (runway) near Nehru Nagar. Spread over 64 acres, the water body, Juhu citizens say will solve the problem of floods in the area.
At present, the natural catchment area has been affected and excess rain water floods the streets of Juhu. Due to unchecked encroachment and the creation of two massive parking lots, the size of the lake has decreased significantly.
Members of Brotherhood (MoB), an NGO working for Mumbai Suburban Lake Restoration Projects, along with Juhu Scheme Residents’ Association (JSRA) have requested Patil and the union aviation ministry to give an official status of a lake to this water body. The lake land belongs to Airport Authority of India (AAI). “Due to the forthcoming elections, work on restoration of the lake has come to a standstill. But we are in touch with the police and the AAI to permit MoB to enter the premises to conduct a detailed survey. MoB will also submit a detailed budgetary estimate to restore the lake. We have asked for MP funds for the project,” said Farogh Mukadam, deputy suburban collector. According to residents, the place where the water body is located is a no-development green zone. “It has been in existence over the past 40 years. Earlier, the lake was even larger. Rejuvenating the lake will improve the sweet water holding in the area and it can act as a sink for rain water from the surrounding areas. This will help prevent flooding in Juhu,” said Siddharth Shanghvi, a Juhu resident. “As per the the survey done, the natural vegetation around the lake and the bird life that could be seen, it was inferred that the water is sweet and it can be used for our 5 gardens in Juhu,” said Sherley Singh, secretary, JSRA. |