06th September to 12th September 09 . Page 3
Powai - 06 September 09 : The musical fountain as part of the beautification of Powai Lake by BMC is not being taken well by environmentalists. They think that the corporation is turning a blind eye to their view point.Nisha Subramanian of Plant & Animals Welfare Society Mumbai(PAWS-Mumbai)says, “ As we came to know about the Powai Lake Beautification Project in which they have proposed to three musical fountains in Powai Lake, we have taken objection on it and sent letters to all BMC authorities including Local MLA Naseem Khan too.”
In the letter they had written, “The construction of the musical fountain would endanger the existence of the marine life (fishes, turtle, crocodiles and other living beings) of the lake and also thwart the arrival of rare migratory birds in the lake. Already the up-gradation which is in progress is done by reclaiming land from the lake by dumping debris and soil on the fringes of the lake.
The presence of the water fountains etc in the lake would lead to presence of lots of visitors (and thus presence of more vehicles) in the vicinity of the lake which would in turn adversely affect the hygiene, noise levels, air pollution levels and traffic congestion”.
In this regard Vivek Pandit, a local resident and activist said, “ BMC is wasting money in the name of beautification of Powai Lake it's just to increase the market value of the property of few builders in the area. First thing BMC should do is to stop all the drainage that is coming from the residential complex into Powai Lake and as we have natural lake then why is BMC converting it into man made lake in the name of beautification. There are many development work which are very important to common public instead of which they are wasting public money in such useless work.”
Talking to this newspaper Naturalist Sunjoy Monga, said “I just want to say that anything that robs away the character of the lake should be avoided..... A musical fountain and accessories are not the most important things to save a lake...”
Bird Expert Adesh Shivkar said, “Mumbai has already witnessed massive destruction of its green cover and we are seeing the harsh consequence.... Instead of saving the remaining patches of biodiversity, we are further disturbing and degrading them. Powai is not just a lake, it is an excellent example of a rich biodiversity habitat that harbours several species of birds, fish, plant etc.... any change or disturbance to this will destroy this fragile and sensitive habitat irreversibly.... I think we have abused the nature enough.... Now let us leave the nature as it is. More than 100 Species of birds are found in Powai lake area..... Some are migratory which are sensitive to disturbance.... A musical fountain will certainly repel them from that place.... it is sad that the authorities give a deaf ear and continue to alter and abuse the landscape”.
Sanal Nair, a Powai resident and who recently took part in Mumbai Bird Race and was the part of team visited birds watching in Powai Lake area said, "People visit parks, ponds to enjoy the tranquility of the place. Setting up a musical fountain at the Powai Lake will defeat the very purpose. Also this lake is a haven for bird watchers which will also be affected. I hope better sense prevails and the lake is left untouched".
