LAWDA blames hotels for rising pollution in Dal Lake : The Tribune India

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LAWDA blames hotels for rising pollution in Dal Lake

SRINAGAR: The Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) has claimed to have connected all hotels and restaurants along the Dal Lake on the Boulevard road to a 150-km-long sewer line for treatment of sewage at specially designed plants.

LAWDA blames hotels for rising pollution in Dal Lake

A member of the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority collects weeds from the surface of the Dal Lake in Srinagar. AFP



Ishfaq Tantry

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 26

The Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) has claimed to have connected all hotels and restaurants along the Dal Lake on the Boulevard road to a 150-km-long sewer line for treatment of sewage at specially designed plants.

However, it maintains that hotels are a major contributing factor behind pollution of the world famous lake.

That the pollution of the water bodies like the Dal Lake, Nigeen and Wular Lake continues unabated was also highlighted by the 16-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests on Monday, which is currently touring the state to assess the situation post September floods and take stock of various other environmental issues.

According to June 2014 status report of the State Pollution Control Board, among 244 Category-A hotels (hotels having more than 19 rooms and requiring installation of individual STP as per the rules) functioning in Srinagar, 72 hotels were connected to common STP, whereas 13 hotels had their individual STP, which means 159 hotels in Category-A in Srinagar at that time did not have STP facilities of their own.

However, to check the pollution of the Dal Lake, the LAWDA has already embarked upon an “ambitious project” under which it was to plug in all sources of pollution of the lake, including waste and sewage generated by hotels and restaurants that dot the lake along the Boulevard road.

“We have constructed 150-km-long sewer through which we have connected all hotels and restaurants along the banks of the lake. This sewer line also includes lateral and household connectivity,” said LAWDA Vice-Chairman Sarmad Hafeez, when asked if hotels along the lake still contribute to the pollution of the lake.

He added that the discharge generated from the hotels along the lake shores was carried through this sewer line to specially designed sewage treatment plants.

“Besides, the hotels near the Dalgate are connected to intermediate pumping stations, from where the sewage is then taken to the state-of-the-art STP at Brari Nambal,” Sarmad said.

However, the houseboat owners, who are themselves facing criticism for contributing to the pollution of the Dal waters, allege that the STPs constructed by the LAWDA have proved to be a failure, adding that the quality of the water treated by the STPs is yet to be ascertained.

In fact, the authorities concerned are already working on a plan to relocate the houseboats to the Doldrum area in the lake so as to connect the boats to the STPs. They allege that the treated water from the STPs, which is then released into the Dal, still contains a lot of nitrogenous substances.

“The STPs have proved to be a failure. It has not helped reduce the pollution level inside the Dal Lake,” said Mohammad Yousuf Chappri, Chairman of the Houseboat Owners Association.

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