Mumbai Hyperlocal: Pramod Mahajan Kala Park sets example of recycled sewage water usage

This is the first BMC garden to use treated sewage water for this purpose.

Flanked by BMC’s sewerage operations (SO) and storm water drains department buildings on both sides and railway tracks to its rear, the nearly 14-acre park now has ponds with lilies and lotuses, and is home to around one lakh plants of 180 species.

The garden has a rainwater harvesting system installed for operating the fountains.

Last year in May, the garden was inaugurated by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

An official from the SO department said the sewage is being taken from the Dadar Sewage Pumping Station for the treatment.

“The sewage treatment plant has the capacity to treat the sewage of around three lakh litre daily. Since its monsoon, we are treating around 1.5 lakh which is required for the garden,” said the official.

The work on the construction of sewage treatment plant (STP) had started in January and was completed in June.

“It will now send out a good message as this could be the first garden in city to use treated water for gardening. It will encourage people to use it in their gardens as well and lakhs of litres of drinking water will be saved,” he said.

The SO department, which has developed the garden, has retained all the trees from the erstwhile STP.

Although the STP was officially shut down in 1999, the 14-acre plot was in a state of disuse and it took seven years for the SO department to convert the plot into a garden.

“Once the plant was shut down, the plot was used to dump silt. There were also a few squatters on the plot. We decided to revamp it and create a green space in central Mumbai. It is perhaps the first time the SO department has created a garden,” said another official from the department.