Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Dec 12: As the Government is spending cores of rupees on conservation of world famous Dal lake annually, around 8.8 lakh cubic meters of untreated sewerage and water flows into Dal and Nageen lakes daily sending the money spent on conservation of the lake down the drain.
According to documents of Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) 6950 cubic meters of untreated sewerage and drainage flows into the Dal and Nageen lakes daily. At the same time 8,72,441 cubic meters of water from nullahs that brings lot of mud and other sediments flows into these lakes daily.
The documents revealed that 1993 cubic meters of drainage flows from Kanitar, Qasimiya Mughal Mohalla, Ashraf Mohalla and Hakim Mohalla daily into Nageen lake for last several years.
This drainage is to be connected to the trunk sewer under construction on western fringe of Nageen lake. This trunk sewer has a length of 2570 meters and so far only 1101 meters have been constructed during past several years.
The 1469 meters of the trunk drain are yet to be constructed as documents revealed that 22.81 kanals of land have not been acquired for this so far by the LAWDA. “Once the land is acquired and drain constructed then this sewerage will go into this trunk drain and not into the lake”, read the documents.
The documents revealed that 1130 cubic meters of sewerage at Mumkhan Pokhribal, Ashraf Mohalla and Shahabad Khudpora are flowing into Pokhribal area of Nageen lake. The work in the area is going on for last several years and has been left half way.
As the part of the drain was constructed the locals of the area connected their drainage with it and now entire drainage of this part of the city flows into the lake for last two years turning its crystal clear waters into a cesspool. The LAWDA is neither constructing the remaining portion of the drain nor they are stopping the inflow of the sewerage into Nageen lake.
The department of UEED is adding 1138 cubic meters of sewerage from Amda Kadal and Rehmaniya Colony into Nullah Amir Khan which then flows into another lake in the South of Srinagar, Anchar lake thus polluting this lake as well.
Government is spending Rs 298.75 crore under National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) on the conservation of the lake but it has failed to prevent the inflow of sewerage and untreated water of nullahs into the lake.
The Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs) at Hazratbal (7.5 MLD), Habbak (3.20 MLD) and Laam Nishat (4.50 MLD) that were completed in 2006 are not functioning upto the mark. Instead of upgrading the STPs the LAWDA has put the money for conservation of the lake in the bank account.
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