Ignored by authorities, Bandra Talao is cleaned by a single man
The 200 year-old Bandra Talao at Bandra (west) is being physically cleaned everyday single handedly by a man for the last 40 years.
Qasim Umarali Shaikh, 55, has been removing every speck of garbage thrown in the lake without expecting much from the Brhianmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) which is supposed to maintain and clean the lake.
Shaikh started cleaning the lake when he was around 14-years-old in 1977 with a salary of Rs 5,000 per month paid by contractors hired by the BMC. However, as years passed by, the work went on increasing but the payment went on decreasing.
For few years as the civic officials changed, Shaikh did not receive a penny yet he continued his work hoping some new officer would be appointed someday who would acknowledge his work and provide him adequate remuneration.
For the last two years Shaikh has been receiving a salary of Rs 7,000 per month for cleaning the entire lake. On a daily basis, Shaikh cleans the lake without any protection by picking up garbage and waste materials dumped inside the lake with his bare hands. Also, he removes the dead biodiversity and serves as a life guard to save those who accidentally fall into the lake.
Shaikh told the Free Press Journal, "Often when I am in the water, I come across sharp objects like glass pieces, steel frames, broken knives and copper wires. Just because I am doing my work silently without complaining, the BMC is not bothered to provide any kind of safety or security measures." Shaikh who is homeless finds it difficult to manage his family with the low income.
The BMC has no provisions at present to clean this 5714 square metre lake. Dayandev Mundhe, assistant superintendent of gardens, who is in-charge of the lake, said, "We do not have any provisions to clean the lake from the past several years. We are trying to make some provisions with the garden cell to clean the water of the lake. As of now, we just try to keep the area around the lake clean but we do not clean the water in the lake."
The civic body also has plans to revamp this lake as proposed by two architecture students of Indian Education Society (IES).
"The BMC aims to revamp the lake but if the water is not clean they will not be able to make it attractive in anyway. The BMC which has large amount of money has been ignoring the cleanliness of this heritage structure and the loyalty of workers like me who have been serving sincerely," Shaikh added.