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| Dying Dal 'deters' Bollywood | | | Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
Srinagar, June 18: At a time when Kashmir Valley has managed to attract several Bollywood stars to shoot their movies here, the pathetic condition of Dal lake is said to be "restricting" the Bollywood from shooting movies here.
The unbridled growth of obnoxious weeds called Azolla has engulfed the lake which is now giving an ugly look. Though the authorities have started removing weeds and Azolla from Dal lake on the priority basis, experts believe that it could not be possible to clean the lake properly and could restrict the Bollywood to shoot the movies in the Dal lake in the future.
"The authorities have put in service various machine and man power to remove the obnoxious weed from the Dal lake. But, it still looks ugly and emanates stinky smell. The film crews would find it difficult to shoot the films in the Dal lake, which is in bad condition," said Mohammad Umar, a researcher of environment.
He said that the government is showing the "doctored pictures" to the outsiders about Dal. "They are misleading the outsiders by not showing the actual face of the Dal, which is in a pathetic condition. Azolla has engulfed the middle of the lake and it would be very difficult for the Bollywood to shoot films in the lake. The state government would have only shown the healthy pictures of the lake and to attract the attention of outsiders to visit here, but the reality is that the lake in a shambles condition," he said.
Ghulam Mohammad, a houseboat owner, claimed that the shooting in the Dal could be a blessing. "But the authorities should remove Azolla and other obnoxious weed from the lake and to clean it properly, so that it could attract the attention of Bollywood to shoot the films here. Otherwise, the ugly picture of the Dal could restrict the Bollywood from shooting the films in the Valley," he said.
Valley's tour operators believe that shooting of films in the Valley will send a strong message that Kashmir is a safe place for shooting. "But, we should provide them the kind of facilities so that more and more Bollywood stars would like to shoot their films here," said a tour operator Tariq Ahmad.
Meanwhile an official of LAWDA said that work on Dal is going on and various machines and manpower are put in place to remove the obnoxious weed from it. |
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