The promises for the beautification of Maimollem lake are empty. It is only during the Assembly Election period where candidates promise people that beautification projects would be taken up for the neglected water body. This has been going on for the past 20 years and with each passing year, the lake is slowly dying.
Known for its green cover, Maimollem Lake, located at the heart of the Mangor, New Vaddem/Shantinagar valley has ended up becoming an environmental nightmare. It was once a picturesque area which benefited locals for various purposes, but today, it has become famous as a sewage pool and poses a threat to the lives of locals.
“For us, Maimollem Lake wasn’t only a catchment area, but had a lot of importance otherwise too. During the monsoons, the lake would fill up and the elders would build ‘bundhs’ to use the water for farming. Following the rains, three quarters of the lake would dry up and the same area would be used for vegetable farming while the remaining portion that contained water would be used for pisciculture. People from Baina also used to come to use the lake water for bathing and washing clothes. No one envisaged that the lake would face such neglect in the future,” said Advocate Rajan Naik who used to stay near the lake but shifted to Shantinagar, two decades ago.
In 2003, during the tenure of the then Urban Development Minister, Digambak Kamat, the much needed cleaning and desilting of the lakes in the area was taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 19 lakh. A beautification proposal was proposed following that, so as to make it a tourist hotspot. The proposal however, remained only on paper as the condition of the lake deteriorated year by year.
According to locals, until 1983-84, the lake used to clean and people would even drink the water from the body. After the mushrooming of illegal shanties at Mangoor, Mangoor Hill, Shantinagar and New Vaddem and the sewage released by them into storm drains connected to the lake, the disaster commenced. Gradually, the quality of water began to decline with the growth of population and the pollution in the lake doubled.
“The lake which was home to many aquatic flora and fauna is now a dump yard. It is covered with filth and weed and has been left desilted for years. The foul stench due to the presence of sewage and the increase in vector borne diseases in the area surrounding the lake has become a serious concern for all of us,” said Sainath Amonkar, a resident of Shantinagar. Amonkar is one of the locals who has seen the deterioration of the lake over time.
“Considering a lack of proper breathing space, the area near the lake should have been a paradise of sorts. Also, water bodies and open spaces are essential to our ecosystem. It is about time that the government takes up a sustained effort to prevent sewage entering the lake,” he added.
Taking the issue forward, Herald spoke to Vasco MLA, Carlos Almeida who acknowledged that the lake contains sewage water and is a threat for the spread of diseases. “These are multiple issues that need to be resolved so as to ensure the beauty of the lake can be revived. Firstly, there is no sewerage connectivity in the hilly areas and thus attempts have been made to ensure that the dwellings are connected to sewage lines. This would prevent sewage from seeping into the lake. Secondly, the WRD has already started the construction of a retaining wall and hopefully, in the next two years, all sides of the lake will have retaining walls. Following that, we will begin desilting and depending on us receiving a comunidade NOC, then we will implement a beautification project,” Almeida said.
