Powai Lake

Powai Lake Latest News

Flagging a series of non-compliances by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in checking untreated sewage flowing into Powai Lake, a National Green Tribunal (NGT)-mandated committee recently recommended that the BMC face a penalty of Rs 5 lakh per month per inlet if the new action plan is violated.

About Powai Lake

• It is an artificial lake situated in the northern suburb of Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• The lake was built by the British in 1890, after constructing two dams about ten metres high across two hillocks, to augment the water supply to Bombay.
• The hillocks seen on the south end of the lake are the lowest slopes of the Western Ghats.
• The catchment area of the lake is 6.6 sq.km., with the depth varying from 3 to 12 metres.
• Around Powai Lake are two famed institutions-Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) and the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE).
• The Padmavati Devi Temple, situated on the bank of the lake inside IIT Bombay campus dates back to the 10th century AD.
• The lake is surrounded by the Powai Bird Sanctuary.
• It is an important resting, feeding, and breeding site of several bird species, resident and migratory. 
• Among some of the lake’s rare and distinguished residents and visitors are the Watercock, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Slaty-legged Crake, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Woolly-necked Stork, Caspian Tern, and Peregrine Falcon.
• In recent times, 40% of the lake has disappeared. The lake has deteriorated due to accelerated growth of residential, commercial, and industrial areas around the lake.

Source: DH

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