Restoration work at Pashan lake pays off

The city’s biodiversity may be on the decline due to human intervention but the biodiversity at the Pashan lake has improved considerably. This has happened  due to the restoration work carried out by the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) garden department.

The PMC’s environment department recently carried out desilting work at the Pashan lake to preserve it. It also carried out various works, including building of an island and the planting of trees to make sure that the birds coming to the lake get a natural habitat.

PMC’s environment officer Mangesh Dighe said, “The work started in 2006-07, when we first carried out the desilting work at the lake. We then created an artificial island spread over 17 acre of area, in the middle of the lake so that people cannot go to the island and birds can use it as their natural habitat.”

The Pashan lake was neglected for a long period of time due to which silt was accumulating there. Earlier, many migratory birds belonging to over 20 different species would visit the lake but due to the silt, the lake’s biodiversity was decreasing and that was affecting the migration of birds. “We took a deliberate decision to not make the lake a picnic spot so that the human presence will be less and birds can stay there for a long time. Even after the migration season is over, the birds can still be seen at the lake.” A garden department official said, “The birds can get fruits and build nests in a natural surrounding.”