Mumbai Activists Launch 'Freedom From Sewer' Campaign To Save Powai Lake Ahead Of Independence Day

Ahead of Independence Day, the environmentalists have launched a campaign titled- ‘I Am Powai Lake, I need freedom from your sewer’. It is started by NatConnect Foundation is part of Save Powai Lake campaign. “We are seeking freedom from sewer for Mumbai’s 600-hectare Powai Lake, which has turned into a reservoir of filth with the draining of 18 million litres-a-day of untreated sewer,” said BN Kumar, director of NatConnect.

BMC’s Proposed Solutions

“The lake was once a jewel of Mumbai and a prime attraction. But the city neglected it for years. It is gasping and needs urgent help, freedom from sewer and muck. This Independence Day we ask ‘Freedom From Sewer’ for Powai Lake and ask BMC to include the Clean Powai Lake as part of its Swachh Bharat campaign,” Kumar added.

“Heaps of garbage such as plastic wrappers, liquor bottles, and even debris are being dumped on the lake. Ministers and municipal officials have been promising action to clean it up, free the lake from sewer and facilitate the flourishing of biodiversity, but like most official promises, these words too proved to be shallow,” said activist Pamela Cheema.

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Timeline for Restoration

The BMC recently concluded that to conserve Powai Lake, diversion of sewer lines and setting up a sewage treatment plant (STP) is the only long-term solution to get rid of unwanted vegetation, which is affecting its biodiversity and aquatic life. The BMC also said that additional machinery and manpower is deployed to remove the hyacinth daily, while two tenders are called for the diversion of sewerage lines and setting up a STP. The completion of work will take at least 18 months.

The Hyacinth Menace

Pointing out the hyacinth mess that is damaging the lake, the activists said that with the currents and monsoon winds, the hyacinth might appear to be less in the middle of the water body. But in reality, the unwanted vegetation is piled up there, and now it has begun to spread back into the lake. Hyacinth must be cleaned so that the aquatic life can breathe and get some sunshine that they need for their survival.