P R I M E C O N C E R N

dal lake Pollution
Restoring the Dal’s pristine glory
Once the lifeline of Srinagar, the polluted Dal Lake is choking due to human interference. Over 30 years, Rs 500 crore has been spent on its revival, but the rehabilitation of lake dwellers remains a challenge.
By Majid Jahangir
Located in the heart of Srinagar city and flanked by majestic mountains on three sides, the glistening Dal Lake is Kashmir’s hotspot, drawing international and domestic tourists in droves. Even when the guns boomed in the early 90s in the Valley, the placid lake was where the locals would hang around on languorous afternoons. 

‘Area intact, shrinking claims misleading’
IN an interview with The Tribune, Irfan Yasin, vice-chairman of the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA), spoke about the condition of the lake, the steps being taken to check its pollution, and the resettlement of lake dwellers. Excerpts:

dal lake Pollution
Restoring the Dal’s pristine glory
Once the lifeline of Srinagar, the polluted Dal Lake is choking due to human interference. Over 30 years, Rs 500 crore has been spent on its revival, but the rehabilitation of lake dwellers remains a challenge.
By Majid Jahangir



The challenge: Runoff from agriculture fields; erosion of hillsides in catchment area. The fix : Massive plantation to halt soil erosion in Zabarwan range.

Located in the heart of Srinagar city and flanked by majestic mountains on three sides, the glistening Dal Lake is Kashmir’s hotspot, drawing international and domestic tourists in droves. Even when the guns boomed in the early 90s in the Valley, the placid lake was where the locals would hang around on languorous afternoons. The beautiful houseboats, carved out of walnut wood, and the lazy, decorated ‘shikaras’ served as spots of leisure activity. But sadly, the times have changed, and the lake with it, as it battles for survival.

Lake facts Houseboats  600 Clean-up project cost Rs 29,876 lakh Lake population 50,000 Catchment area 337 sq km

During the early militancy period, people took advantage of the situation and turned portions of the lake into landmasses, causing it to shrink. Illegal structures, unabated encroachments, heavy silt and weed growth began choking it. Even though massive efforts by the Central and state governments are on to restore its pristine glory, the lake is dying as a direct result of human interference. Delay in the rehabilitation of thousands of lake dwellers is only worsening the problem.

Getting serious

The state government is working on a multi-pronged strategy comprising sewage and sewerage treatment, hydraulic works, catchment management works and resettlement of dwellers to conserve the lake. 

The project has been approved at a cost of Rs 29,876 lakh, of which Rs 16,000 lakh has been released by the Centre.

The first serious attempt to revive the lake came about when the government, under a Central scheme, began releasing funds for its restoration. However, the money found its way into the pockets of government officials. The state vigilance has registered over 25 cases against the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) for alleged corruption.

In 2002, the lake caught the attention of the civil society when the J&K High Court intervened following a public interest litigation petition by Sheikh Tahir Iqbal, a law student at Kashmir University. The court has been monitoring the preservation work since, and the development authority and other agencies have to report to it about the progress on a monthly basis.

“Court intervention has helped a lot,” a housing and urban development department official says.

Irfan Yasin, vice-chairman of LAWDA, claims that the health of the lake has improved immensely. “In the last 30 years, nearly Rs 500 crore has been spent on its preservation. The quality of waters has improved, which has been acknowledged not only by the State Pollution Control Board, but also the National Engineering Research Institute (NERI), Nagpur. The institute had taken 48 samples from the lake. Its report reveals that 35 per cent of the water is excellent while 45 per cent is of good quality,” he says. 

Five sewage treatment plants (STPs) are operational and the flow of sewage into the lake has been stopped completely, he adds.

But while the development authority boasts of improvement, scientists say the preservation plan is not backed with scientific planning. “They have adopted a document for which a study was undertaken by Roorkee University in the early ’90s. How can those suggestions be relevant now?” asks Shakil A Romshoo, head of the earth sciences department at Kashmir University. “One does not need rocket science to understand that the condition of the lake has deteriorated over the years.” 

Romshoo, who is also a member of the scientific advisory committee for the preservation of the lake, says the committee has not met since the last three years, reflecting the lack of seriousness to restore the lake. “The only way forward is that the work must be guided by research and technology,” he emphasises.

Though, undoubtedly, the quality of the waters has improved at various places, the interiors of the lake have turned into large patches of land, through which narrow waterways are used as means of transport. “I remember the time when I would wash my face in this water, but now I cannot imagine it. The Dal used to be crystal clear,” says Ghulam Qadir, a lake dweller. 

The dirty picture

Human settlements have been the major source of pollution. Untreated sewage and solid waste made their way into the lake from peripheral areas and houseboats. The runoff from agriculture fields and erosion of hillsides in the catchment area were the other sources of pollution. The diminishing water circulation and inflows into the lake due to encroachments of water channels, and consequent clogging, were responsible for extensive weed growth. 

Though there has been some improvement, a lot requires to be done. The sewage treatment plants have started showing results. Of the 27.90-km main trunk sewers, 26.05 km have been completed while the remaining will be completed by this month. Similarly, five intermittent pumping stations have been commissioned and the remaining five will also be completed by the month-end. 

“We have also reopened 31 blocked channels of the lake, which has improved the quality of the waters. Many plant species that were thought to have been extinct have started growing again, an indicator that the lake is breathing again,” says Yasin.

Experts, however, strongly recommend the long-term monitoring of the lake waters. 

Rehab & the politics of it 

Those who have settled in the lake areas are a part of the history of the lake. Their main occupation was to collect wild products and grow vegetables for the consumption of the population of the city. In due course of time, the number of dwellers grew and their occupations diversified, causing stress to the ecosystem of the water body. 

The lake has a population of 50,000 living in hamlets, houseboats and ‘doongas’. These accommodations have been discharging untreated liquid and solid waste into the waters for long, leading to pollution and subsequent degradation of the lake waters.

The Conservation Management Plan is funded by the Government of India and the rehabilitation costs of the Dal dwellers would be borne by the state government. The rehabilitation plan has been worked out and land at Rakh-i-Arth, measuring about 3,000 kanal, is being developed by the state government.

“There has been a delay in the rehabilitation process and the main reason is vote-bank politics. A year ahead of the elections, no political party in Kashmir wants to take the risk of demolishing houses in the Dal and shifting them to other places,” says Farooq Ahmed, an environmentalist. “The successive governments have been lenient. They first allowed people to construct structures and now they are in no position to demolish those,” he says.

Romshoo, however, claims that the rehabilitation policy is not a futuristic vision for the conservation of the lake. “Conservation entails biological and socio-economic aspects. The livelihood of Dal dwellers is in the lake. They will return to it, so a holistic view is needed to preserve the lake,” he says.

Hamid Wangnoo, general secretary of the house boat owners’ association, claims that they have not been contributing much to the pollution of the lake. “Poor planning has resulted in this mess. There are 600 houseboats and they have always been there. But we are being accused of polluting it. Money has been looted in the name of conservation,” he alleges.

Water sources

Around 80-90 per cent water enters the lake from its catchment area and the rest comes from natural water springs. The lake has a total catchment area of 337 sq km. The water enters the Dal though Dachigam-Telbal creek (nullah) and many other streams. The lake has two outlets — Dal lock gate and Amir Khan Nala, which also connects Nigeen and Anchar lakes. These water outlets are regulated by a weir system and flow almost year round.

How lake came about

The origin of the lake is unclear, but two explanations are often cited. While some geologists say the lake is a remnant of the ‘pleistocene oligotrophic’ lake which once covered the entire Valley, others believe it to be a flood plain lake.

Kalhana, a 12th century poet, mentions the Rajtarangini Lake and Walter R Lawrence, Resettlement Commissioner of Kashmir in 1887, wrote: “Perhaps in the whole world there is no corner as pleasant as the Dal Lake. The water of the Dal is clear and soft as silk, and the people say that the shawls of Kashmir owe much of their excellence to being washed in its soft waters.”

Several rulers in the past used the lake and its beautified surroundings for recreation. The famous Mughul Gardens around the lake were built during the 16th-17th century. In the 18th and 19th century, the city of Srinagar started expanding towards the lake, resulting in far-reaching changes in its environs. Human interference got accelerated by way of settlement in the lake to facilitate pedestrian traffic and establishment of lake tourism by providing houseboats.

Clockwise: (1) The challenge Dal dwellers are adding to the pollution in the lake. The fix Hasten rehabilitation.  (2) The challenge Massive growth of weeds and Azolla species a concern. The fix Measures like manual de-weeding. (Bottom ) People use lotus fruit and stem as food, but due to eutrophication and growth of non-native species, the plant cover is decreasing.

‘Area intact, shrinking claims misleading’

Irfan Yasin

IN an interview with The Tribune, Irfan Yasin, vice-chairman of the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA), spoke about the condition of the lake, the steps being taken to check its pollution, and the resettlement of lake dwellers. Excerpts: