Crocodile carcass floating in Powai lake since Sunday

Jul 01, 2010, Thu . Page 2 . DNA Mumbai Upfront

The carcass of an eight-feet-long crocodile has been lying on the banks of Powai lake since Sunday, when it was first spotted. Despite being informed, the civic body's hydraulic department, which has been carrying out beautification work on the lake, is yet to respond.

Mahesh Karpe, a resident of Powai, said, "On Sunday afternoon, some children who had gone fishing spotted the crocodile's body in the mangroves on the banks of the lake. Though crocodiles have been seen before, it is rare. It is not known how many crocodiles are present in the lake, but spotting one is considered lucky."

When Sishharth Tawde, another resident, learnt about the carcass, he informed the BMC control room, but no action has been taken for three days, raising fear that the lake may get polluted.
Locals then informed an animal activist, Sunish Kunju, from Plants and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). "The lake falls under the BMC hydraulic department's jurisdiction. It has been working on the beautification of the lake since a year. This could have affected marine life."

Vinay Deshpande, BMC hydrau lic engineer, said, "We did not know whom to contact in the forest department. It will now fish out the carcass. We will check water samples to find out if the water has been contaminated."

Dead crocodile rots 3 days in lake as govt, BMC sort out responsibility

Thu Jul 01 2010 . Mumbai News Line

Mumbai : The carcass of a crocodile has been floating in the Powai lake near Ganesh Garden for more than three days, allegedly because municipal and forest authorities expected each other to remove it. The forest department has now said it would have the carcass removed.

Visitors on Wednesday complained of the stench from the carcass, floating amid the hyacinth since at least Sunday. Sunish Subramainan of Plant & Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) alerted the BMC’s hydraulic engineering department, the Powai police and the forest department.

Subramainan said that for three days, the hydraulic engineering department, which is in charge of the lake, and the forest department, responsible for wildlife in the city, kept shifting the responsibility on each other. “The forest department said Powai lake is under the BMC and the civic authorities said it is the forest officials’ job.”

On Wednesday, Shree Bhagwan, the chief conservator of forest in charge of the city’s wildlife, confirmed that he had asked his officials to remove the carcass. “I have also advised our doctors to visit the spot and conduct a post-mortem immediately. The post mortem will prove if the animal’s death was natural and also the approximate day of the death,” he said.

BMC hydraulic engineer Vinay Deshpande said, “Since this morning, we have been running from pillar to post to contact the right forest department persons to pick up the carcass. Now that they have been informed, we will do the follow-up needed after the carcass is removed.”

Activists were concerned that beautification work could have changed the composition of the lake, suffocating the animals. They feared that the rotting carcass may have poisoned the water. “With the beautification under way, people have also begun going to the lake regularly. Many migratory birds also visit the spot and the lake has marine fauna. All this will be affected if the water is poisoned,” Subramanian said. Deshpande said, “The Powai lake’s water is not used for drinking.”