India, March 17 -- Residents of Navi Mumbai came together in Nerul on Sunday demanding for the DPS Lake, a biodiversity-rich area, to be declared as a Conservation Reserve so that development here is restricted. A letter with over 1,200 signatures was submitted to the forest department.

Rekha Sankhla, a Seawoods resident, spearheaded the campaign. She said, "We will add this signed letter to strengthen our case with public opinion. The wetland is important for the city's habitat, and it should be preserved."

The water levels in the DPS lake - a satellite intertidal wetland of Thane Creek, a Ramsar site - increase only during high tides at the Creek. "The flamingos, that migrate to Thane Creek, rest and find food at these satellite wetla...