In its efforts to revive the lost wetlands of the city, the BMC is pulling out all the stops. The civic body has chalked out an elaborate plan of constructing artificial hillocks around the long-lost Kalina lake. The lake is located at the 36,000 sq metre Kalina tank plot, located near the airport colony. The other three lakes set to be restored are the Charai lake in Sion, the Chandivli lake and the Bandra talao. As per a civic official from the garden department, one of the oldest lakes in the city began receding owing to garbage and construction debris being constantly dumped into it. The official, The debris height at Kalina lake has reached over two metres, and to reconstruct the lake, the ground has to be dug between 3 mtrs and 5 mtrs. What is interesting is that instead of transporting the silt and debris excavated, the BMC is planning to use it to construct hillocks around the lake. In addition to this, walkways and seating arrangement for visitors will also be built, at a combined cost of Rs4 crore. The strategy is being worked out while the BMC is waging a battle to remove the slum encroachment in the area. The H East ward is carrying out the process of differentiating the legitimate from the slum dwellers. The rehabilitation of the pre-2000 slum dwellers will also have to be looked after, said the official, adding that there are more than 250 shanties currently. Part of the plot that will be cleared will also be given to the children of two nearby schools as a playground. Additional municipal commissioner SVR Srinivas gave an estimate of one year for the work to be completed. He said, It is important to revive the lake, since it holds water during monsoons. We have already started work on it. However, as is the case with every such intricate plan, residents remain sceptical. Loy Dias, chairman of Voice of Kalina ALM opined: It is quite an uphill task to bring the lake back and remove all the encroachment. Five years ago, construction of a compound wall started around the plot, but it is yet to be completed. We are not sure how soon can the lake be revived.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:48:06 +0000
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