After several measures in the past failed to clean the world famous Dal Lake, the government has once again come up with a mission to ensure the preservation of the water body by starting de-weeding process. The drive is continuously being supported by SDRF, NDRF, SMC since the beginning, which is being carried out under the overall supervision of LAWDA. According to the government figures, lily extraction works for an area of 2.5 sq km in the first phase have been outsourced. The lily has been extracted by using pontoon based 16 machines since June. The LDA has been able to clear about 1.00 sq km till date and extraction process is in full swing. The LDA is engaging about 350-400 laborers per day for de-weeding the periphery of Dal Lake which is about 1.32 sq km area. In the process the LDA has also pressed into service its own machines which are 7 in number. These machines are used for de-weeding and skimming in inner parts of Dal Lake. The drive will end on October 16. However, the million dollar question remains whether the famous water body will be cleaned fully or the process would be kept midway like the past. One fails to understand why the drive was launched time bound. There are people who want the drive to continue till the world famous Dal Lake will take its decades old shape again. The government should consider continuing the process till the goal is completely achieved.
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