Now, BJP opposes cycle track around Powai lake

Locals stage a protest against construction of the cycle track last month. File pic/Sameer Markande

With the opposition against the cycle track that Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to construct around the Powai Lake getting stronger by the day, BJP MP Manoj Kotak on Thursday said the water body's heritage status should be preserved. He added that the civic body should ensure that the track doesn't affect the lake's conservation.

In a letter to Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, the MP from the Northeast constituency and former group leader of the BJP in the BMC underlined the need to conserve the water body. Kotak said that the BMC must first stop the flow of sewage into the lake and clear the water hyacinths.

"Civic officials had said that the track would be outside the high tide line, but it will obstruct the natural beauty of the lake and environmentalists say it will harm the biodiversity too. The lake is a natural habitat of crocodiles and leopards. So the work of constructing the cycle track should be immediately stopped and instead it can be built adjacent to the pipeline as per the previous plan," said Kotak. He added that the cost of the project was crores of rupees and it would not be worth it, considering the financial condition of the civic body.