Even as the work to revive Jogila lake at Uthalsar in Thane started in 2018, the progress is slow-paced.
After reviewing the work recently, Thane Municipal Corporation commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal said Thane residents will finally see water in the lake full before monsoon this year.
Jaiswal did a status check on the ongoing work of the lake and said that fresh water springs have been found during the digging work.
“We have found fresh water after digging four to five metres deep, which is a good sign. We have dewatered the lake several times, but water keeps on flowing into it, which means there is enough ground water at the spot. We will remove silt from the lake and construct a safety wall to prevent silt from re-entering the lake. By monsoon there will be enough water in the lake,” said Jaiswal, who is the brain behind reviving the lake.
The municipal corporation will finish construction of a safety wall around the lake in a month. The lake will also be expanded towards the TMC ward office side while a small Development Plan (DP) road will be constructed as an access road to the lake, Jaiswal said.
The potion of the office obstructing the lake will be demolished and shifted. Jaiswal said, “A DP road will be constructed to give access to the lake for which 80 slum dwellers will have to be rehabilitated. The biometric survey of the slums will be conducted for their rehabilitation.”
{{/usCountry}}The potion of the office obstructing the lake will be demolished and shifted. Jaiswal said, “A DP road will be constructed to give access to the lake for which 80 slum dwellers will have to be rehabilitated. The biometric survey of the slums will be conducted for their rehabilitation.”
{{/usCountry}}There are 125 slums behind Uthalsar civic school. Some of the hutments will have to be demolished. “A separate building will be construction for rehabilitation of the slum dwellers and the ward office,” said the civic chief.
Jogila lake in Uthalsar area of Thane was buried beneath hundreds of slums in the last 10 to 15 years.
In 2018, TMC began the toughest task to clear encroachments from around the lake area.
Hundreds of hutments had mushroomed on the land where the lake existed. TMC razed more than 300 slums and roped in CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to conduct a study on how the lake could be revived.
The next phase of will be to build a small immersion ghat, seating arrangements, play area, jogging track, open gym, concrete pathways, landscapes and washrooms.
The total area of the plot cleared for the lake is 5525 sqm out of which the lake is 2625 sqm.
Activists are sceptical about the revival of such a big lake, especially since the municipal corporation is going slow in carrying out the work.
Milind Gaikwad, Thane-based activist, said the restoration of the lake should be done scientifically. “The lake should be completely restored. Some slums and the TMC ward office are yet to be shifted from the lake area. We suspect that the corporation will merely create a ditch which will be later filled with rain water. Also the restoration should be for beautification and not for some fancy residential redevelopment projects.”