Thane the Lake City

 









On a bright Sunday morning of 11 dec 2022, I joined my mother to a #citywalk in #Thane, the famous #LakeCity. It was the first time other way round that my mom had invited me to some nature sensitive event. Her ex-colleague Nutan Bandekar, a school principal had organized the #ThaneLakeDarshan . She was not only the driving factor of this event but is a self-made environmentalist & author who has done extensive research & published books on the lakes of Thane. She also runs a roof-top kitchen garden on her school terrace. We started at 8 in the morning & probably went on till 8 in the evening. 40 people turned up. Some, her school colleagues some nature enthusiasts, individuals, local reporters and nature groups like Hirva Swapna, Menon’s Environment Exclusive (MEE) & Earth4Ever Conservation Foundation. One of the enthusiasts had visual impairment, such is the passion of those truly drowned in the natural beauty of this Lake City. Thane has in total 40 to 42 lakes of which we could manage to see 14 lakes in day. Some man made & some natural these lakes not only make Thane water wise self-sufficient but managed to keep the temperatures cool, harvest rain water, prevent flooding, support wildlife & human life unbiasedly & of course added to the charm of this ancient city.  Some of the lakes have been mention of stone carvings & copper plates, a history documentation method from 1600s. Yes! that is how old the documented history of Thane is. I know this information, thanks to historian & author Sadashiv Tetvilkar, a Thankear who had joined us on this trip. Every time he started speaking, we would all gather in the middle of the road listening to him like eager children. He filled us with pride & wonder. Having grown up in this city for last 3 decades, I yet felt like a stranger, knowing so little about my city. The lakes we saw are a massively reduced version of original lakes. Some I wouldn’t even call lakes they look more like ponds. Some were beautified by TMC & some stayed neglected & hidden away. Some I never even knew existed! Nutan ji’s work is highly commendable, her work & intent must be shared by thousands of young #thanekars so that our “Lake City” can truly stand up to its name. The organisers, her friends & family deserve a salute for their meticulousness in spite of this being there 1st ever such attempt. They arranged everything from a bus, amazing meals & snacks to even a microphone for commentary of information. I for once was truly impressed. The icing on it all was also the impromptu demonstration by the members of Wildlife Welfare Association at the foothills of SGNP. WWA is an organisation born in Thane, working PAN India for the protection & rehabilitation of wildlife.

If one wants to support or volunteer with the above-mentioned organisation, they are available on social media to connect:

Nutan B&ekar – on Facebook

Sadashiv Tetvilkar - https://www.marathisrushti.com/profiles/tetvilkar-sadashiv-p/

Wildlife Welfare Association – https://www.instagram.com/wwa_india/ https://www.facebook.com/wwaindia

Hirva Swapna - https://www.instagram.com/hirva.swapna/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/496307918935218/

Menon’s Environment Exclusive (MEE) - http://Www.greenshreelata.weebly.com

Earth4Ever Conservation Foundation - https://www.earth4ever.in/

The list of lakes we saw:

#Bramhalatalav @ #Khopat

#Jogilatalav @ #Thanejail

#AmbeGhosaletalav aka #Abhiruchitalav

#Jaagmatatalav aka #Madardetalav @ #Kolbad

#Jarimaritalav @ #Gokulnagar

#Rewaletalav @ #Kapurbawdi

#Shivajitalav @ #Balkum

#Kolshettalav

#Turfapadatalav @ #Bramh&

#Uthalsartalav

#Kavesartalav @ #Hiran&aniestate

#ShriRamtaval @ #Kasarvadavli

#nisargparichaykendra aka #tikijuniwadi @ #Manpada #SGNPThane

#Upvantalav

 

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