State authorities are stepping up efforts to clean up Kashmir's watery jewel, Dal Lake, ringed by Himalayan peaks.
© AFP Tauseef MustafaMarch 06, 2009, (Sawf News) - State authorities are stepping up efforts to clean up Kashmir's watery jewel, Dal Lake, ringed by Himalayan peaks.
Jammu and Kashmir State High Court has asked the state government to shut down the commercial activity by 1200 houseboats and hotels shortlisted for causing pollution to the lake, starting Friday, March 6.
On an experiment basis, Mini sewage plants have been placed on 4 houseboats to contain the waste generated by them.
The 18 square kilometers lake itself is connected to a number of other lakes of the Kashmir valley.
Famed for its brightly hued, ornately carved cedar houseboats, the lake is divided by causeways into four basins, called Gagribal, Lokut Dal, Bod Dal and Nagin.
Lokut-dal and Bod-dal have an island each in the centre, known as Rup Lank (or Char Chinari) and Sona Lank respectively. Along most of the shore of the lake is a boulevard, lined with Mughal-era gardens, parks, and hotels.
Human settlements within and along the lake have attributed to the pollution and environmental deterioration of the lake which has already shrunk by more than half to 11 square kilometers (4.2 square miles) in the past two decades and is becoming choked by weeds. Its depth has decreased by 12 meters (40 feet) in the same period.
Pollution is sometimes so bad it turns the normally blue colored lake into a brackish green as effluent from hotels and houses on the shores are discharged into the lake water.
In addition to the houseboats, home to nearly 7,500 people, another 50,000 people live on little islands within the lake area.
Brightly colored floating vegetable gardens have also become big sources of contamination. Dal Lake's floating gardens on rafts made of reeds make it one of the Indian Kashmir's biggest vegetable producing areas.
During the winter season the lake sometimes freezes over.
The flora and fauna of the lake include lotus flower, water lilies and water chestnuts and notable birds are kingfishers and heron.
Apart from the houseboats, the Lake and Waterways Dal Authority allows kayaking, canoeing, water surfing and licensed angling on the lake.
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