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| Monday,
October 30, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Dal Lake shrinking due to
pollution Secretariat to
reopen on Nov 6 Plea to reject
recommendation 300 birds die in farm
fire Paddy procurement
to start soon |
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Dal Lake shrinking due to pollution SRINAGAR, Oct 29 (PTI) — The picturesque waters of the Dal Lake in Kashmir, which draws tourists from the world over, is being stripped of its shimmering beauty and is shrinking in size, with the routine dumping of industrial waste and encroachments along its banks. Once a star tourist attraction with its famed shikaras, the lake would soon be little more than a cesspool of filth due to the encroachments, mechanical deweeding and sluggish water movement. Situated at an altitude of 1,580 metres above sea level in east of Srinagar and high Zaberwan mountains with their lower slopes descending on the lake and orchards and wooden fields in the backdrop, the lake has shrunk from 58 sq km to the present 11.05 sq km. Continued agricultural activity in the floating gardens and catchment areas, land reclamation, encroachments and constructions in and around the lake have also contributed to its steady degradation On the surface, the lake may still look beauiful, but it has been polluted with sewage waste and poisonous effluents which have been routed to its waters over the years. The crystal clear waters of the lake turned red due to the presence of algas, believed to be the first sign of drying up. Biologically known as Euglena rubra, the single-celled organisms have turned the water toxic and it is no longer safe even for fish breeding, say experts. The change in the lake’s colour has been attributed to mechanical deweeding by some experts, but other scientists feel that it is because of lack of circulation and sluggish movement of water. “This is an unfortunate state of affairs as a sixth century treatise mentions the lake as sureshwari and calls it a jewel,” says a historian. The lake extended from the Shankarcharya hillock in the South of the Mahadev mountain in the north and from the present day Saderbal in the east to Telbal in the west. The name ‘dal’ large water body, seems to have come into use later. The pollution has not only been caused by the neglect of government agencies but also the lack of basic civic sense on the part of the people, the experts say. The first encroachment inside the lake took place around the 1960s when Nehru Park, a tiny island in the lake, was constructed by the then government headed by Ghulam Mohammad Bakshi. At present, there are over 1,000 registered houseboats of various kinds in the lake, which until 1989 catered to more than7,000 tourists, apart from that of 10,000 inhabitants of the area. Although the registration of new houseboats for the lake was banned by the government, the process continued in an unauthorised manner ad today the number is over 1,400. Alarmed by the steady environmental decline of the lake, the Jammu and Kashmi Government set up the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority in 1997 for restoring he lost glory of the lake but there were reports of alleged misappropriation of public money worth crores of rupees. “Unfortunately, the persons made responsible for the job of saving the heritage of Kashmir and develoment of the lake indulged in large-scale irregularities, financial indiscipline and looted the state exchequer for corresponding gain to themselves”, a spokesman of the State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) said. He said scrutiny of the records revealed irregularities in the execution of so-called integrated development related works in and around the lake like deweeding, skimming, renovation, execution of mechanical works and making irregular appointments. The enquiry further showed that public money had been squandered, the spokesman said, adding that at some places work was shown to have been carried out on paper while huge amounts of money was drawn. More than Rs 15 crore had been shown as spent on various projects on the lake, the spokesman said, adding that an enquiry revealed rampant corruption. Since the preliminary enquiry has prima facie established the allegations of misuse of official position, financial irregularities, commission of grave misconduct, the SVO has begun a probe by registering seven FIRs’. The state government has also initiated a Rs 297.90 crore project for cleaning and conserving the Dal and Nagin lakes. The report would be sent to the Centre which has already agreed to 100 per cent funding of the project, government sources said. A Detailed Project Report prepared by the Alternate Hudero Energy Centre, University of Roorkee, sponsored by the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests, came in for serious discussion with various participants pleading for the restoration of the water bodies to their earlier ecological status. “The lake is not dead yet and it is time to initiate an action plan to protect it in order to restore its grandeur,” Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said recently at a function here. |
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Secretariat to
reopen on Nov 6 SRINAGAR, Oct 29 (PTI) — The Jammu and Kashmir Civil Secretariat, which closed here on October 28, will reopen in Jammu, the winter capital of the state, on November 6 as part of the routine “darbar move” process, official sources said today. Under the bi-annual darbar move, secretariat and other government offices function for six months each in Jammu and Srinagar due to weather conditions. Darbar move is a centuries-old tradition costing at least Rs 10 crore annually to the state exchequer for transporting office records from one city to another and travel expenses of secretariat staff and other officials, the sources said. Plea to reject
recommendation JAMMU, Oct 29 — The president of the National Mazdoor Conference has implored the Prime Minister to reject anti-employees recommendation of the 11th Finance Commission by virture of which the Central Government will not appoint any pay commission in the coming 10 years. In a communication sent to the Prime Minister today, Mr Shastri regretted that such a recommendation had been made when the working class all over the country was facing acute economic problems and their living standards were deteriorating because of financial constraints. |
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300 birds die in farm
fire KATHUA, Oct 29 — About 300 birds at a poultry farm were burnt alive after a fire engulfed ward No. 2, Hiranagar, on Divali. According to reports, the fire broke out within minutes after a cracker bursted on its thatched roof. In another incident on the same day a saw mill was completely destroyed when some crackers bursted on its premises. Timber worth Rs 80,000 was destroyed. The blaze was controlled after an hour by the fire brigade men, who reached the spot within 15 minutes. In the third incident a house was gutted by a fire at Dera Batala in the Samba sector on Divali night. The reason behind the incident was stated to be bursting of crackers.
Meanwhile, six persons were arrested for gambling and Rs 6,600 seized from them. Paddy procurement
to start soon JAMMU, Oct 29 — Paddy procurement will start from the first week of November in Jammu region.
This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Food and Supplies, Mr Ajay Sadhotra, while reviewing the progress with regard to the procurement process of coarse paddy by the FCI. He said the FCI had agreed to lift the coarse paddy with maximum moisture of 8 per cent and 1 per cent foreign contents. The paddy not conforming to the specifications would not be accepted, he said. The paddy would be procured by the FCI at Rs 510 per quintal and the payment would be made on the spot. |
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