Pune: Residents and activists have accused Pune Municipal Corporation of allowing untreated sewage to enter Pashan Lake, blaming faulty planning and inadequate infrastructure centered on the 1 million litres per day sewage treatment plant commissioned last year.City-based advocate and resident Krunnal Gharre said Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) pushed ahead with the 1 MLD sewage plant that was “inadequate from day one”, highlighting the rapid-growing area. “The STP’s capacity was grossly underestimated. Even before it became fully operational, the STP exceeded its designed capacity during the trial run. Instead of augmenting the capacity, PMC chose a short-sighted solution in flow meters to divert excess sewage elsewhere,” he alleged.According to Gharre, the excess sewage was now entering Pashan Lake, undoing years of effort to intercept sewage inflows from Bhugaon and nearby areas. “I have filed an execution application against PMC, Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA), Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and the Bhugaon and Bhukum gram panchayats, seeking the imposition of environmental costs,” he said.A PMC official firmly rejected the allegations, saying excess sewage from the STP was not being released into the lake. “The 1 MLD plant was designed to treat only a fixed quantum of sewage. Water currently entering Pashan Lake originates from upstream areas like Bhugaon, which fall outside PMC limits,” the official said.Pashan resident Pushkar Kulkarni said the lake was effectively saturated with sewage, which explained the rampant growth of water hyacinth. “Even if the STP operates at full capacity, it would still be far too small to make a meaningful difference. What is urgently needed is a comprehensive scientific study on sewage generation and the creation of adequate treatment infrastructure,” he said.City-based ecologist Shailaja Deshpande said the lake’s ecosystem had been pushed to the brink by the steady inflow of solid and liquid waste, especially from Ramnadi. “The lake was once a haven for migratory birds. Today, prolonged stagnation and pollution have stripped the water of dissolved oxygen. Fish and other aquatic organisms can no longer survive in it. This is rapidly becoming a dead ecosystem,” she said, adding that the lake itself required immediate desilting and cleaning if its ecological balance was to be restored.Another Pashan resident said there was a persistent stench in the area. “Whether you pass along the Ramnadi or near Pashan Lake, it is immediately noticeable. The water body is filled with sewage,” the resident added.
