The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday said it has shot down the proposal to introduce water sports such as scuba diving, water aerobics, water polo and boat racing at Powai lake.

The civic body said that introducing water sports in the lake could threaten the visitors, as the lake has crocodiles.

The proposal was mooted by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) corporator Saeeda Khan in July 2018. The BMC’s reply to Khan’s proposal will be tabled in the administration’s standing committee meeting on Wednesday, and it will be put up for discussion.

Reacting to the BMC’s reply, Khan said, “It is quite sad that the BMC does not understand the idea behind my proposal. The BMC can shift the crocodiles to Byculla Zoo. It will earn a lot of revenue by introducing water sports at the Powai lake, so it should explore avenues to introduce the same. ”

The civic body said it is working on several plans to restore the lake from pollutants and preserve it, as the lake has rich marine biodiversity and rare species of crocodiles. BMC also said it has received funds from the Centre under the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-Systems to preserve the lake, but its initiatives have been put on hold owing to the construction of the Metro-6 corridor which passes from near the lake

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) has proposed several initiatives, floating hotels off the state’s coast, to boost coastal tourism under Maharashtra’s Water Sports Policy 2015.

First Published: Jul 09, 2019 05:33 IST