MUMBAI, May 16 -- After six long years of waiting and petitioning, finally, success. The semi-wild Lokhandwala Lake, which has lately been draped in invasive species and algae and littered waste, is finally being cleaned. This is only half the battle won, residents note. The other half will be to ensure that the lake is and its rich biodiversity are better-protected in future. This is why residents want it declared a conservation reserve, as has been done with the DPS Flamingo Lake in Navi Mumbai. After all, over 153 species of birds and about 10 species of fish rely on Lokhandwala Lake. In addition, there are lush mangroves in the region. All these ecosystems have suffered from having waste dumped on them by residents and commercial entities. For now, with the help of local legislator Haroon Khan, a no-objection certificate (NOC) to clean the lake has been issued to Mhada, following which a contractor has been appointed. An inaugural coconut-breaking ceremony is scheduled for Friday. "After the ceremony, we will send machines in to begin cleaning the lake. Then we will think of preventive measures to stop the dumping and beautify it to some extent," Khan said. "There was an existing NOC with Mhada to beautify the lake, which was renewed by us," added Mumbai Suburban Collector Rajendra Kshirsagar. Residents remain determined to see the rest of this struggle through. "People have dumped furniture here, and immersed idols and religious offerings. Two years ago, some trucks drove up and dumped debris in the lake," said Dhaval Shah, co-founder of the Lokhandwala Oshiwara Residents Association (LOCA). "For years, we have written emails to authorities, held meetings with BMC ward officers, sought the help of a local MLA and organised clean-up drives to save the lake," added Karan Jotwani, another co-founder of LOCA. Even the state human rights commission took suo-moto cognisance of the case and directed the department concerned to file a report on the action it intended to take. Last year, before the Assembly elections, residents put the lake on top of the list of priorities they discussed with candidates. "The earlier MLA wanted to beautify the area and build a park around it, but that will only lead to the accumulation of more waste," said Shah. "We only want the cleaning to happen, and protective status." Cleaning must be scientific to protect aquatic life and birds, said naturalist writer Sunjoy Monga, who also recommended deploying security guards to prevent poaching and installing CCTV at key dumping spots. Although Lokhandwala Lake is currently under the Collector's Department, in 2022 then environment minister Aaditya Thackeray had asked the forest department's mangrove cell to declare it forest land....