Under tremendous pressure from the construction industry, the lake is shrinking. Its 370-acre expanse is clogged with the waste material that is being dumped on its shores regularly and which flows into the lake whenever it rains.

A large area of its sparkling waters is now covered by large patches of hyacinth - a bulbous liliaceous plant - and tonnes of garbage and sewage that is dumped into the lake is killing fish by hundreds. `Save Powai Lake', as such, is not a slogan, it's an anguished cry of people who have seen the destruction and want to put a stop to it. The history of the lake dates back to 1906-07. It was built by the Britishers hastily,anticipating a severe draught in the city. The picturesque lake and its surrounding, till late considered a distant wilderness, became a picnic spot before the builders came. Debi Goenka, an environmentalist and a resident of Powai, says garbage from nearby colonies, debris from construction sites and untreated sewerage find their way into the lake waters.

Not surprisingly, more than 5,000 fish, including the precious specie of Masher, had perished due to water contamination in 1993. ``Most of the fish that washed ashore dead weighed above 16 kilograms each,'' says Gordon Rodricks, general secretary Maharashtra State Angling Associations (MSAA). Though a resident of Andheri, Rodricks visits Powai lake every week either for fishing or in connection with the administrative work of his club. For him if anything symbolises the lake's destruction, it is the skyscrapers on its shore that have come up in the last 10 years.

He points out that devastation continues despite the fact the Powai is one of the fivelakes in the country earmarked for desilting and beautification under the National Lake Conservation Programme (NLCP). Rodricks says an amount of Rs 23 crore has been sanctioned for beautification of Powai Lake under the NLCP. But the money, in all probability, would be spent on other civil engineering works outside the lake, he laments. His association, however, spends around Rs 6 lakh each year to desilt the lake and remove about 25 tonnes of hyacinth from the waters. But that is obviously not enough. ``After nightfall a large fleet of trucks dump debris and mud from quarrying sites on the southern fringe of the lake. The debris flow into the lake during rainfall,'' said George Gopali, environmentalist and a resident of the area. Today's morcha, meanwhile, ended in an impromptu meeting near the lake and a core group was formed to tackle the problem on a war-footing.

Suggestions to save the lake included building of a promenade along the fringe of the lake to prevent further dumping of wastes in thewaters. Developing a nature trails in the sylvan surroundings, breeding of fishes, desilting and removing floating patches of Hyacinth too were listed up on the list of priorities.