Hope springs for Bandra Talao

The sight of two men fishing at the far end of Bandra Talao on Monday morning was just the sort of sign that the organisations hoping to resurrect the lake were hoping for.

The sight of two men fishing at the far end of Bandra Talao on Monday morning was just the sort of sign that the organisations hoping to resurrect the lake were hoping for.

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“The presence of fish is a good sign because that means there is still oxygen in the water,” said Sudip Roy, business line manager at Fugro Offshore Survey, which is conducting a preliminary water quality survey of the lake.

Architect PK Das, corporator Asif Zakaria and Fugro officials spent an hour inspecting the lake near Bandra station.

This was the first visit by experts after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) last week gave its nod to the Mumbai Waterfronts Centre, a citizens’ initiative attempting to save the lake, to test the water quality.

The inspection, scheduled later this week, will determine the level of pollution, its sources, heavy metal deposits and industrial waste.

Fugro representatives will collect samples from six or seven different parts of the lake and conduct a bathymetrical survey to measure its depth. Once the survey is done, a report would be submitted within two weeks to the BMC.

“The lake is an asset and must be revived as it will help increase Mumbai’s ground water level and help other water bodies,” said Roy.

“We will go about everything in a systematic and scientific manner,” said Das. “The proposal we make will include maintaining the quality of water once it has been cleaned.”

While the inspection is being conducted free of cost, the final amount for the clean-up will be determined only when the survey results are known.