Drainage water from nearby residential areas was being allowed to freely pass into Powai lake.
An NGO has raised questions with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) about how drainage water from nearby residential areas was being allowed to freely pass through the floodgates installed at Powai lake and enter the waterbody, causing immense damage to the ecosystem.
Plant and Animals Welfare Society (PAWS-Mumbai) has not only submitted photographs of the drain water seen clearly flowing in the lake but also wrote a letter to assistant municipal commissioner of S Ward and various other authorities asking them to take immediate action. "As per BMC itself there have been 17 floodgates installed all around the lakes culverts to stop sewage from entering the lake and only rainwater through storm water drains is allowed. But the situation on ground is totally different as we have proof that polluted water is entering the lake and there could even be locals involved who are opening the gates to allow all the sewage into the lake," informed Sunish Subramanian, secretary for PAWS-Mumbai, who has been raking the issue of Powai lake degradation for a decade now.
Subramanian added that they have submitted the images to the BMC and want them to not only investigate the matter and put a permanent stop on it but also initiate water quality analysis. "The BMC is spending crores on removal of water hyacinth but on other hands if this sewage is allowed to enter, the pollution will only increase, affecting the natural habitat of flora and fauna in the lake," he said.
Secretary of Naushad Ali Sarovar Samvardhini Dr Pramod Salaskar, who has done a study of the Powai lake, said that the matter was extremely serious and needed immediate attention. "The sewage entering the lake is rich in pollutants like nitrates and others that lead to algal bloom thus depleting the oxygen levels of the water causing mass death of fishes. It also aids the growth of water hyacinth," he said, adding that even he had on several occasions recently seen drainage water entering the lake and it needs to be stopped to save the lake.
Meanwhile, senior BMC officials claimed that the problem had to be solved at ward level or storm water drains department. "Either the ward office or the storm water department has to ensure that all the illegal sewage lines that opens up in the drains is closed and then the sewerage department can provide them sewer lines so that only the rain water from the drain lead into the lake," said an official.
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