Srinagar, Jul 21: Waking up to the rising pollution levels, the government in collaboration with a private organization is set to convert the Dal Lake’s waste into organic manure.
Kashmir’s famed water body Dal Lake has witnessed a considerable rise in pollution levels over the years.
While National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) in partnership with Clean Effentech International Pvt Ltd (CEF) Group is going to convert waste generating from Dal Lake into organic manure.
“It is expected to start from August. It will help to clean Dal Lake to a larger extent,” a senior official said.
Dal Lake is unique in that over 50,000 people inhabit the lake itself in houseboats, dongas, or islands within the lake. These people derive their livelihood from the lake in terms of tourism, agriculture, fishing, and vegetable farming.
However, it has witnessed extreme loss in water quality during the last four decades because of human activities.
Javeed Ahmad, an environment researcher said there are various factors which have affected the lake water quality.
“There is an urgent need to address the problems associated with lake restoration, management, and conservation by both authorities and the local population,” he added.
A recent study says the concentration of harmful substances like nitrate, phosphates, and chlorides have increased significantly in Dal Lake in the last 25 years.
The study titled “The changing water quality of lakes—a case study of Dal Lake, Kashmir Valley,” says that concentration of total phosphorus has increased from 0.1 to 0.4 mg/l in 1997 to about 6 mg/l in 2017.
“Similarly, chlorides have shown a steep increase from 2–2.7 mg/l 329 in 2007 to 10.3 mg/l in 2017. Other elements like calcium and magnesium, have also witnessed an increasing trend in the lake,” it says.
