India, Oct. 1 -- Powai Lake will finally stop receiving direct sewage from today, with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) completing work to intercept and divert all 20 identified sewage streams flowing into the lake. The move comes after years of complaints from residents and environmentalists and mounting concern over pollution that has fuelled the spread of water hyacinth in the lake.

The BMC said 18 sewage outfalls along Adi Shankaracharya Marg (JVLR) have been connected to the existing sewer network leading to the Bhandup Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). Two streams at Peru Gate, on the northern edge of the lake, have been diverted to the Filterpada STP.

The project involved laying 3,056 metres of new sewer lines. It began i...