Historic water body faces environmental degradation due to urban mismanagement
Over 85 per cent of Srinagar’s sewage flowing unchecked into iconic water body: Claims local
Srinagar, Aug 29 : Dal Lake, once a revered icon of Srinagar’s beauty and culture, is now grappling with a severe pollution crisis.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has stepped in to address the escalating environmental con-cerns, forming a committee to investigate the sources and remedies for the lake’s contamination. The lake, severely affected by untreated sewage and poor urban planning, is at risk of further degradation if immediate and effective measures are not taken.
The NGT panel includes members from environmental bodies J&KPCC, J&K Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA) and senior officials of the Central Pollution Control Board. The committee has three months to identify the sources of pollution and suggest remedies it re-garding source, acquisition & penalty.
Indeed, NGT intervention on an issue like this is greatly appreciated but the mystery of toxic Dal can lead us somewhere else aside from only houseboats or untreated sewage. The most significant cause behind Dal Lake turning into a defilement pit is the bad management if urban infra-structure, which development and planning has been in Srinagar. Locals alleged “nearly 85 per cent of Srinagar’s sewage ends up in Dal Lake along with its associated water bodies such as Chuntikul, the backwater channels and on to Jhelum River. That in itself is a massive failure of planning and governance.”
Bashir Guroo alleged that “In 2000, scientists at Roorkee University con-cluded in an independent study that the residents living on or around Dal Lake contribute to only 5 per cent of pollution load. Of the remaining 95%, discharges from the sepincode.comes urban areas pass through a failed trunk-sewerage system directly into the lake. In other words, the development of urban layout would better rely on sewage management from one aspect to drainage and waste disposal.”
He said, “Disturbingly, the mess in Dal Lake has been multiplied with bygone era arranging botches. A blacktop road laid over the complex 5.5 km-long Nalamar channel near Trichy in the late ’70s blocked a key wa-terway that connected different parts of the lake which was once pristine and cake-like, recalls Mayor Ramanathan (71) who hails from Chidam-baram town on its Northern side. Also in the mid-1980s, near Dalgate Badayari Chowk another important hydrological gate Angriz Khanh was modified. The gate acted as an essential means of regulating water levels in the lake and maintaining its natural outflow to Jhelum River.”
The fresh water channel of Nalla Amir Khan close to the mouth of Gilsar Lake was blocked by iron shutters in 1999. Which not only choked the freshwater but deteriorated the health of Nigeen Lake, Khushalsar Lake and other inter-connected bodies. The lakes, which were home to a rich and varied wildlife in former times are nearly dead because they have drowned under pollutants from all directions, Guroo added.
The Dal Lake is not just a natural water body it has also become the most visible and internationally recognized cultural symbol of Kashmir. It supports over 60,000 people directly or indirectly regarding livelihood support in urban areas (managing sewage) and rural hinterland (fishing hooks). Over generations, the lake has employed houseboat owners, shi-kara operators, and local artisans. Standing in the way are unchecked pollution and a subsequent decline in water quality, directly threatening their ways of life. The local economy is also heavily dependent on tour-ism, and few visitors will spend money in a village that smells so bad.
However, the officials from the government department strictly denied the claims made by the locals stating that they are making every effort for the restoration of all the water bodies in Srinagar and some of them have also been restored.
