Environmentalists see red over plans to turn Powai lake green
Say proposed nature park will actually endanger natural ecology of the area; Mayor to look into the matter …….GEETA DESAI
Anature park, planned as part of the BMC’s Rs 43 crore Powai Lake garden beautification project, will actually endanger the ecology in and around the lake.
This is a fear expressed by environmentalists, and the reason for their apprehension is that the park is to be created by reclaiming over 1,200 metres of the lake itself. Besides, the lake at present has natural boundaries.
But BMC is planning to create a concrete embankment on the garden that will ring the lake along Adi Shankaracharya Road.
Furthermore, environmentalists believe that reclaiming land and creating a boundary wall for the lake may even cause flooding, as water follows its own course and reducing the space of the water body will possibly lead to flooding.
“It is painful to know that Powai Lake will lose its natural charm. Nature needs no beautification,” said Ulhas Rathod, a Santacruz resident who has written in protest to the municipal commissioner.
“They also plan to erect a musical fountain with lights and sound. While this may look beautiful, it would spoil the natural sound.
“What you normally hear is the sound of birds, flowing water, breeze blowing through trees, and even the sounds of animals and reptiles,” said Ulhas.
He has demanded immediate action before work on the project goes too far ahead.
“The project might give citizens a fanciful picnic spot. But it will damage the bio-diversity of the area that will lead to pollution and harm the natural habitat of different species that thrive there,” added Rathod.
Another environmentalist Girish Raut said, “The lake has natural boundaries and is a natural habitat for many species. Powai Lake also has a link with Tulsi and Vihar which is natural and not manmade.
Also, Powai is one of the important origins of the Mithi River. If the natural boundaries are made concrete, it will only create an obstacle to the water body,” added Raut.
WHAT THE BMC SAYS
WHAT THE BMC SAYS
Mayor Dr Shubha Raul and standing committee members of the BMC visited Powai Lake recently, but none of them are aware that the nature park is being constructed by reclaiming part of the lake.
When contacted, Mayor Raul said, “I have received the complaint and have sought details form the hydraulic department. They cannot build a nature park at the cost of nature itself.”
When told about the reclamation, Sunil Prabhu, leader of the house in the BMC, said, “We were not informed about the reclaiming part. If that’s the case, we will not allow any interference with nature.”
When contacted, BMC’s hydraulic engineer M M Kamble claimed, “We are not reclaiming the lake. We are trying to beautify what exists there.”
But nature lovers insist there was no such piece of land that projected into the lake up to 1.5 km (the portion being reclaimed).
“I’ve been passing this way for years. There was no such land,” said Andheri resident Vivek Dalvi, a nature lover.
“But in May, I suddenly noticed them reclaiming the land. As the water level was low in summer, they could actually do the work very fast, he added.
BMC plans to create a concrete embankment that will ring the lake (below)