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Thane lake revamp invites opposition
Thane As the neglected Kasarvadavli lake in Thane awaits conservation, there is a tussle over a beautification proposal tabled in the civic body recently.
Thane As the neglected Kasarvadavli lake in Thane awaits conservation, there is a tussle over a beautification proposal tabled in the civic body recently.
Two young Shiv Sena corporators argued in the Thane Municipal Corporation’s general body meeting recently over the lake’s beautification.
Sena corporator Siddharth Owalekar said Thane Municipal Corporation has spent money on the beautification of the lake thrice without any result.
Purvesh Sarnaik, whose father and MLA Pratap Sarnaik, had proposed the beautification insisted that the proposal be approved.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena opposed the beautification, pointing out that there are no facilities around the lake. However, local residents said they want the lake’s beautification.
When the proposal for the lake’s beautification came up for discussion, some corporators claimed that since this lake is included in the 36 lakes under the lake conservation project, there is no need to spend additional funds.
The civic administration had tabled a proposal of spending Rs8 crore on the beautification of the Kasarvadavli lake. Owalekar said the administration should first make walkways and access road to the lake before beautifying it.
The mayor, Naresh Mhaske, finally decided to conduct a meeting in his office to address the issue.
Few days ago, Pratap Sarnaik had a meeting with civic commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal, demanding the lake along Ghodbunder Road should be conserved and beautified. Following this meeting, the proposal was tabled in the general body meeting.
A TMC official said, “The lake’s beautification will include safety wall, railings along the lake, jogging tracks, viewing gallery, an immersion ghat and beautification of the area around a small temple near the lake. A play area and seating arrangement too are planned. The budget for the project is Rs8 crore.”
Owalekar said the lake was taken up for beautification thrice. “TMC has spent money three times on the beautification of the lake. However, nothing has changed. The lake is also included in the lake conservation project and the work is already underway. There is no need for a separate budget. TMC should first develop an access road and construct proper storm water drains near the lake before spending on beautification.”
Purvesh claimed that the road near the lake is in good condition. “There is no problem with the access road to the lake. The proposal is aimed at protecting and conserving this lake so that people in the surrounding area can use it as a hangout.”
Standing committee chairman Ram Repale suggested that a meeting be conducted with the mayor on this.
Mhaske agreed that the issue will be resolved after discussion on the proposal.
The administration said that though the work order was given for the work on this lake under the lake conservation project, no work was actually carried out. A civic official requesting anonymity, said, “We had proposed to beautify the lake under the lake beautification and conservation project. However no money was every spent on the beautification.”
MNS oppose beautification
The MNS said there was no need to spent funds on the lake, while there are no roads or other facilities near the lake. Kiran Patil, city president of MNS Thane, said, “Smart city does not mean merely beautification but it also means providing basic amenities. The corporation should first spend money on roads, pathways and storm water drain surrounding the lake and then spend on beautification. If the proposal is approved, we will stage a protest.”
Local residents demand beautification
The villagers staying around the lake have supported the beautification proposal, claiming that they had earlier boycotted the election over this. Vandana Kaware, 50, a resident of Kasarvadavli, said, “The lake was cleaned two decades ago. After that, there has been no effort by the corporation to clean the lake. We immerse idols during Ganeshotsav and Navratri so the lake is heavily silted and needs to be conserved.”
Another resident Gauri Patil, 57, said, “The water in the lake stinks because garbage is dumped in the lake. The beautification of the lake is our long-standing demand and we had boycotted elections a few years ago.”
The Kasarvadavli lake is in Kasarvadavli village on Ghodbunder Road. The lake is a clean water body with no encroachments. People often come to the nearby temple which is famous as Sheesh Narayan temple.
