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| DB seeks survey report on untreated waste flow into Dal Lake | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, May 5 : A Division Bench of Jammu and Kashmir High Court has asked Vice chairman of Lakes and Waterways Development Authority to conduct a survey about the number of untreated waste points which flow directly into world famous Dal Lake in Srinagar.
"We cannot restore quality of Lake water and help Lake regain glory it once enjoyed, unless and until we have a clear idea about points atwhich untreated urban and agriculture runoffs and other discharge from into Dal Lake and the average volume of such effluents flowing into Dal Lake per month," a division of the court comprising Justice Hasnain Massodi and Justice B L Bhat said. "Once we have statistics available, we can work out number of additional STPs, required to be installed and points, where such plants are to be set up so that only treated urban and agricultural runoffs and other discharges find way into Lake," the court said. "In the said background Vice chairman LAWDA, shall get survey of area around Dal Lake conducted so as to find out the exact number of points around Lake, wherefrom untreated runoffs discharge flow into the Lake.
He may so-opt the Faculty and students from Department of Environmental Science Kashmir University, and volunteers from other NGOs with the exercise," the court said. A comprehensive report regarding source points with all necessary details of untreated urban and agriculture runoffs that flow into lake shall be submitted within three weeks, the division bench said. "The report shall indicate average volume of untreated discharges added to Dal Lake per month. The report shall be appended with a detailed map to elucidate the report and identify source of aforesaid water pollution to Lake with necessary precision," the division bench added.
At present only four to five Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs) areoperational around Dal Lake, though without attaining their optimum operational capacity and a large part of urban runoffs and other effluents that flow directly into Dal Lake, does not pass through STPs. "Urban and agricultural runoffs as we are aware are rich in nitrogen and phosphorous.
These added to lake water without treatment; therefore, act as fertilizers for weeds growing on the Lake bed.
On one hand Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) spends millions of rupees on de-weeding operations, manual as well as mechanical and on the other hand thousands of tons of manure and fertilizers, in shape of urban and agricultural runoffs are allowed to flow into Dal Lake, to promote and enhance growth of weeds on the Lake bed," the division bench observed. |
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