Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Sep 7: Amid rising footfall of tourists in Jammu & Kashmir, the world famous Dal Lake in Srinagar is being preserved by the government with hectic efforts going on to make and keep the water body clean by installing biodigesters in all the houseboats.
Many houseboat owners expressed dismay over the deteriorating condition of Dal Lake as they claim that the waste goes directly into the water body, which affects the glory of the lake here.
However, on the other hand, the government has made progress in installing the biodigesters in houseboats in a bid to reduce the pollution from the houseboats.
Vice Chairman, Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LC&MA) Srinagar, Bashir Ahmad said that the progress has been made in installation of biodigesters in houseboats in Tailbal area.
“Almost 70 per cent of the houseboats have been completed while the rest are being covered. The process is going on and all the houseboats will be completed by October end,” he said.
Pertinently, the installation of biodigesters on houseboats to prevent and treat the human waste from the houseboats has been approved by the Committee of Experts under the chairmanship of E Sreedharan, popularly known as the ‘Metro Man’, which was appointed by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court to suggest measures for the restoration, maintenance and preservation of the lake.
LC&MA was asked to finalise the installation of biodigesters for treating sewage from the houseboats within a stipulated time.
With the growing pollution in Dal Lake becoming a major concern, the expert committee in October 2018 had approached the DRDO for a technological solution to prevent the discharge of human waste in the lake. Subsequently, four prototypes of the biodigester were evaluated by the DRDO in houseboats in Dal over a period of six months and the technology developed has been certified by an independent laboratory.
Moreover, AEE LC&MA, Tanveer Ahmad said that the sewerage pipeline is being laid since May this year for the houseboats in Dal Lake, adding that the deadline for the project is November end.
He added that 90 per cent work on the pipeline has been completed and they are expecting to complete the process by October end only. “The sewerage pipeline is also being laid with an aim to ensure pollution free Dal Lake,” he said.
