Banganga Tank in Walkeshwar, South Mumbai, is undergoing intensified cleaning and water testing after hundreds of fish were found dead, prompting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to call a meeting with residents and priests on Monday.
The meeting will be held at the BMC’s D ward office, where civic officials are expected to discuss measures following the fish deaths and concerns over the condition of the historic water body. The BMC has increased cleaning operations at the tank and plans to deploy additional manpower at the site.
The civic body has also installed an aeration pump and will pump out and refill the tank. Water samples have been sent for testing, although the supplied report does not identify a confirmed cause for the fish deaths. The results could help establish whether the incident is linked to water-quality conditions, organic waste or another factor.
The episode has brought renewed attention to the difficulty of managing a water body that is simultaneously a heritage site, a pilgrimage destination and a heavily used urban public space. Residents and environmentalists have raised concerns about the impact of ritual activity and accumulated waste on the tank’s ecological condition.
The problem has occurred before. In 2025, the BMC removed about 10,000 kg of dead fish, floral waste and other organic material from Banganga over three days. The civic body has previously placed collection bins at the site and carried out cleaning operations, but the recurrence has kept questions over long-term management unresolved.
Walkeshwar resident Sanjay Shirke, who has filed a public interest litigation seeking measures to protect Banganga, has called for stronger safeguards for the heritage water body. Residents have also sought an alternative facility for rituals to reduce pressure on the tank itself.
The BMC has said its ability to intervene is limited because Banganga is privately owned and falls under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). That division of responsibility is central to the immediate response, since municipal cleaning and water-quality measures must operate alongside the obligations of the private owner and the heritage authority.
Banganga is one of Mumbai’s historic water bodies and an important pilgrimage site dating back centuries. According to local belief, Lord Rama created a tributary of the Ganga at the site by shooting an arrow into the ground before worshipping Lord Shiva.
The BMC’s Monday meeting, the water-testing results and the proposed pumping, refilling and manpower measures will determine the next steps for addressing the fish deaths and maintaining the tank.
