Powai Lake:
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.
- It is an artificial lake situated in the northern suburb of Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- The lake was built by the British in 1890.
- The Padmavati Devi Temple, situated on the bank of the lake, 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.
