The Dal Lake in Kashmir’s Srinagar overlooking the pristine mountains attracts tourists from all over the world. While the lake looks stunning in the tourist area with decorated houseboats floating on it, the story is different in the interiors. Reportedly, far from the tourist area, the lake has turned pregnant with untreated sewage, thick weeds, silt and floating pieces of reeds. The boatmen find it difficult to row their vessels through the mossy waters. According to an Al Jazeera report, sewage from around nearly 15 big drains end up in the lake contaminating it with unwanted pollutants.
Dal Lake Getting Contaminated With Sewage, Weeds, Silt And More
As reported by Al Jazeera, boatman Noor Muhammad has stated that although the authorities shell out a lot of money on the lake, they do not ‘clean it properly. The discarded sewage and weeds are choking the lake, which is the lifeline of the boat owners of the city. In 2016, research by the University of Kashmir had revealed that only 20% of the lake is comparatively clean and 32% is highly degraded. In 2017, data revealed that nearly 11 million gallons of sewage were discarded into Dal Lake.
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Officials Are Taking Steps To Clean The Lake
The government is taking steps several steps to restore the cleanliness of the lake. A government official named Bashir Ahmed who is overseeing the lake’s cleaning said that weeding and treating of more than 8 million gallons of sewage are being done daily. He added that the authorities are also destroying illegal structures in the catchment area of the lake. Mechanical dredgers are being used for the removal of silt and weeds. Officials have affirmed that they are taking all possible steps to check the degradation of the lake.
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In 2020, Kashmir Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) had started an elaborate mission to decontaminate the lake. After all, it is one of the most splendid gifts of mother nature in the country. On that note, here’s why you should Choose Srinagar’s Floating Market Over Bangkok’s